What We've Lost And What We've Gained
by thundercrash
Summary: One by one, the Inner Senshi find themselves stripped of their powers when they need them the most. How can they protect the world when they can barely protect themselves? *Warning: Reviews contain spoilers. *COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1 - The Loss

What We've Lost and What We've Gained

Chapter One - The Loss

_It can't end like this. I can't die here. Can I?_

begin.

* * *

She had been running for so long now. For what seemed an eternity, her legs propelled her forward in a feverish attempt at escape. Her heart pummeled the inside of her ribcage, as if it too were trying to escape, any moment expecting to burst through her chest into the cold night air. Her lungs greedily sucked in as much oxygen as it could manage. Every step further was like lifting a lead weight.

And yet still her mind had bigger concerns than the physical pains of running.

Regardless of the muscles that were threatening to unhinge themselves from her body, the bite of the frigid air on her deeply opened wounds, and the waves of sweat and tears stinging her eyes - she had to press onward.

It was still coming.

The streets were too empty on this winter night to waste her valuable breath on screams. There wasn't anyone around that could be of any use. The few bystanders she had come across had been disposed of in a matter of moments, violently swatted aside like inconsequential rag dolls. She hadn't stopped to see if they were killed or just knocked out, but she assumed that they were still alive. She had been tossed into to enough brick walls and phone booths to know how resilient the human body could be. She had even gotten up right away a few of those times.

But she was different of course.

The victims would need to go to the hospital, depending on the severity of the blows. A few would probably have concussions or need stitches if they hit broken glass, but they'd live. She couldn't help them now. She needed to concentrate on her own life.

Her mind over matter stance was rapidly waning. The distance between her and her pursuer was diminishing. She couldn't keep it up, even if she was willing to run forever. She had to think fast.

_Improvise! What do you have to improvise with?_ She glanced feverishly about.

Her sprints had taken her to an edge of the city. A small harbor. Her eyes darted. Boats. A docking station. More boats. More buildings.

Then she spotted it. A generator.

That stationary high voltage box, more than likely, powered a significant amount of the area. She could only pray that it would be enough.

Her pursuer bellowed a great roar, as it approached. It slowed its pace, knowing that there was no where else to run.

They stood, facing each other on a wooden dock, frozen in that moment. A massive horned demon, the likes of which she had only faced in nightmares, glared down at her. Red eyes pulsing, chest heaving from the chase, it released a low growl. She stared back defiantly, though afraid.

"What do you want from me?" she ventured to ask. She had an idea of the answer. It obviously wanted her dead. But why? The other monsters they had faced at least had an agenda of some sort. Energy, crystals, mirrors, something!

Not a hint of recognition fell upon its features. Its crimson eyes betrayed a mental dullness. The hulking beast that dwarfed her in size and stature ran on instinct alone. It was an animal that chose its prey. There was no other reasoning to be gleaned.

It stepped forward, the boards beneath it groaning in protest of its colossal weight. It continued to approach, but she remained ever still, waiting. The monster released another bellow before sending an immense clawed swipe at the young woman.

The impact never came. She had dived backwards into the frigid bay.

Immersed in the unforgiving waters, she opened her eyes. Though the arctic cold seemed unbearable, she forced herself to swim forward. It was still more desirable than being sliced open. She proceeded underneath the long dock back towards the shoreline. As expected, she soon heard a massive splash behind her.

She had never been a particularly fast swimmer, but with death nipping at her heels, she burst forward with the do-or-die fervor of an olympian. She glanced backwards at the demon floundering in place behind her. Hope tugged at her heartstrings, as she considered the possibility of it drowning. Perhaps if she was lucky, it wouldn't know how to swim.

A muffled cry cut through the water as the monster found its bearings. It resumed its pursuit, though with much less vigor. The glacial water was slowing it down. She could, at the very least, derive petty satisfaction out of its obvious discomfort.

She gasped out for precious oxygen, once she emerged on the shoreline. Even though the cool air met her wet skin like violent pinpricks, she was grateful for the opportunity to breathe again. Gracelessly, she stumbled towards the transformer, drunk on pain, but fueled by desperation.

Upon reaching her target, she turned back towards her adversary. Her demonic foe finally emerged from the bay, dripping with rage as it made its final approach. Again they stood off, staring for a hateful eternity.

One last roar. One last charge. One last chance.

When the beast brought down its hulking claws, she dove to her right, falling roughly against the concrete below.

Dripping claws sunk directly into the high voltage generator, sending tremendous waves of electricity through its wet and conductive body. The few street lamps around them flickered and went out as the demon's form sent arcs all about. The monster released a terrible screech, as it convulsed violently nearby the fallen woman.

Unfortunately, the electricity proceeded down on a wet path straight for her, sending residual shock waves into her own soaked form. The enemies continued to pulse, until the beast's claws were finally thrown from the power source.

Her nose was the first one to catch up, waking to the scent of fried hair and sizzling flesh. Her blood boiled with an intense electrical heat, while her skin screamed of the frosty touch of ice water. Her eyes opened to the sight of a dead youma, lifeless red eyes trapped in a thousand yard stare.

If she was able to move right away, she would have gotten up and kicked it. She would have torn off its arm and beaten its fried corpse for the mere pleasure and satisfaction of the act. But her mind was now taking second seat to her severely punished body. She laid there immobile, watching the youma disintegrate into a familiar dust.

Several minutes had passed. Her body screamed for rest, but she knew that she could no longer lay there. She was covered in ice water and exposed to a cool air. Her arm was severely gashed and still bleeding, though not as heavily. Perhaps her exposure to the high voltage helped cauterize it a bit. She could only speculate; she wasn't a doctor. She sure as hell needed one though.

But she wouldn't dare try to explain this to an actual doctor.

She stumbled to her feet, staggering painfully away from the scene, praying to Serenity that she wouldn't literally freeze to death before reaching help.

* * *

Hino Rei woke up to find her dear friend, near dead on her doorstep. She had at first ignored the knocks, but they had weakly persisted.

"Oh Kami-sama, Mako-chan!"

The shrine maiden dropped to her knees and brushed her friend's frozen chestnut hair out of her face. Beneath drooping eyelids peeked a faded green listlessness, so unlike that of her normally shining emeralds. Once rosy lips were muted a disturbing shade of blue. And sheet white pale skin was stained and smeared with crimson gashes.

Although her first instinct was to panic, a more pragmatic center of her brain kicked in. The raven haired woman wasted little time in dragging her friend's limp body towards the baths.

She tore off her friend's frost covered clothing, leaving her bra and underwear for modesty's sake, and placed her in the lukewarm bath. The sensation of the room temperature water shocked the beaten brunette back into consciousness for a moment, and she let out a suffering gasp. A new layer of pain was added to her already multi-layered night. The hurt threatened to shut down her brain.

Rei slapped her in the face. "Stay with me, Mako-chan!"

"Rei-chan?" she mumbled weakly. She hadn't exactly remembered making it to Rei's temple. Her eyes threatened to close and send her off into a wintry slumber.

"Goddammit, you stay conscious!" Rei slapped her again.

"But I'm so tired..."

"Please don't fall asleep yet!" pleaded Rei, "I'm going to go warm up the water a little bit. Wait here!"

Rei sped frantically towards the wood and started a small fire underneath the bath. She dashed back to her friend, who was still on the verge of letting go._ Oh God, what would Ami do in a situation like this? _

The only thing she knew to do was to slowly warm her up and keep her awake. Perhaps talking to her would work.

Rei shook her friend's shoulders vigorously. "Mako-chan, what happened to you?"

Makoto smiled faintly, head lolling. She slurred her speech, "Hi, Reei-chaan."

So maybe it wasn't the best time to ask. Perhaps less complex questions. "Okay then. What color is the sky, Mako-chan?"

"You have preeetty eyes."

"Uh sure. They're my mother's eyes. Now what's your favorite color?"

"Greeeen..."

"Good. And - Mako-chan! Pay attention!"

Makoto squinted, trying to focus. "It's so cold right now..."

Rei looked at her friend's fading state. The water was warming up, but her lips were still blue. And she needed to clean a nasty looking gash on Makoto's arm.

"I'm not a Senshi anymore, Rei-chan," mumbled a delirious Makoto.

"That's right. You're not transformed right now. Now what month is it?"

"February."

"Good. And what day?"

"Tuesday?"

"It's Wednesday now, but fine enough. Are you feeling warmer?"

Makoto nodded dumbly. Rei touched the water, it was actually getting somewhat hot. After a few more minutes of trivial questions, steam was rising. And much to the firebrand's relief, the color was beginning to return to her friend's face, though it was accompanied by violent shivering. Awareness slowly returned to Makoto's distant emerald eyes.

"Mako-chan?" questioned Rei hesitantly. She noticed the grim expression replacing the delirious haze.

Although there was no answer, Rei could see in Makoto's far off look that she was awake and mostly cognizant.

"I'm going to go get some gauze to clean up your arm. I'll be right back, okay?"

No response. Rei returned shortly to the edge of the bath. "Give me your arm."

Makoto complied silently and took her cold arm out of the warm bath. Unfortunately, the feeling in her limbs had returned, and she was now feeling Rei's attentions to her bloodied wounds. She closed her eyes for a moment and hissed, seeing the youma swiping at her and deeply grazing her left tricep.

Rei, feeling the wince, apologized, "I'm sorry. But I'm going to have to put some antiseptic on it. It's going to sting."

Makoto nodded and awaited the oncoming sting. It burned, but didn't hurt as much as anything else that was thrown at her that night. She recalled the fear in her heart. For her own life and for the people she was failing to protect. Worst of all, she recalled...

"Mako-chan?" Rei's hesitant voice cut through her reverie.

"What is it?" replied the fighter dully.

"How are you feeling now?"

It seemed like a simple enough question. Yet, Makoto had no idea how to answer. She settled for a bland, "I don't know."

"Well, I'm glad you're at least seeming to form coherent thoughts." Rei let out a deep breath of relief and touched her friend's still slightly cold cheek. "The color is back in your face. Thank goodness."

Rei's attentions returned wiping away the blood. They sat there in silence, until Rei put down the crimson stained cloth. "There. Your arm is cleaned up. When you get out of the bath, I can patch it up better when it's dry."

Tears began to form in the brunette's eyes, but she forced them back. "Thank you, Rei-chan. You saved my life."

"I'm relieved that I could," admitted the shrine maiden. She tried to seek out the fighter's eyes, but Makoto was avoiding her gaze. "I know you'd do the same for me. Now, what on Earth happened to you?"

Makoto leaned back against the wall of the tub and sighed heavily. After a short pause to collect her jumbled thoughts, she put it simply, "Youma beat my ass, we fell into Tokyo Bay, and then it got electrocuted. Then I stumbled here and probably scared you half to death."

"The Tokyo Bay part explains you practically having hypothermia. But is there anything else you wanna add? Like why you didn't call any of us?"

Makoto shook her head sullenly. "Fighting for your life really takes it out of you. I know we have a lot to talk about. But right now, all I want to do is rest. It's dead and I'm still here. That's all I can say for for right now. Please?"

There was a distance in Makoto's eyes that Rei couldn't place. Although the shrine maiden could reach out and touch her, the fighter seemed miles away. Makoto seemed resolved in discussing the matter later.

Rei wanted to push. Normally she would have. But tonight was different. She had never seen the her willful friend so broken before.

As much as it pained her to do, Rei relented, "Fine. I'll be back in a few minutes to patch your arm. You're taking my bed tonight. We talk first thing tomorrow morning."

The perturbed warrior nodded and gazed down at the water, drowning in her troubled memories. Her battle wounds were soon wrapped after she grudgingly left the bath's warm embrace. She slipped on some the loose fitting clothing that Rei left her. Judging by the band logo, the shirt was left behind by Yuuichirou. It would have to do, as her own clothes were torn and possibly still frozen. She proceeded quietly under Rei's jostled covers.

As she lay staring up at the wooden ceiling, one thought tore her insides apart.

_I'm not a Senshi anymore. _


	2. Chapter 2 - The Disquietude

What We've Lost And What We've Gained.

Chapter Two - The Disquietude

_What do you do when there's nothing you can do? _

continue.

* * *

"Mako-chan. Hey, wake up."

Makoto's eyes fluttered open to find a concerned pair of amethyst eyes peering down at her.

"Rei-chan? What time is it?" asked the groggy brunette, brushing tousled hair out of her face.

"It's almost noon," answered Rei, "I have some lunch prepared, would you like to eat?"

She nodded mechanically and rose, still in a sleep addled daze.

Rei sat her down and put a bowl of thin soup and rice in front of her tired companion. "Here. It's not much, but you need to eat something."

"Thanks, Rei-chan," she said simply. As she ate, she could feel the eyes on her. The normally impatient firebrand was obviously waiting, but Makoto still couldn't bring herself to speak.

Finally, Rei asked, "Well, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Makoto peered down at her soup, stirring at it absently. The memories were still gnawing at her stomach. "Shouldn't we wait for the others?"

"They're on their way, but I'd still like to know why you almost got yourself killed instead of calling for backup. You can tell it again later." Makoto winced at Rei's irritable tone.

She hesitated again, but the penetrating glare told her loud and clear that Rei wasn't going to accept any more avoidance. The fighter relented and took out her wand and communicator. The sight of them drew a shocked gasp from the startled firebrand. The devices were both blackened shells of their former selves. They looked as if they had both been burnt to a crisp. But how could that have been possible?

"Mako-chan, what happened?" choked out the shrine maiden.

"I don't know!" Makoto squeezed the colorless paperweights tightly in her hands. "A youma attacked me as I was walking home from work. I pulled out my pen and tried to henshin, but it just burst out of my hand. When I picked it up off the ground, it was all black. I tried to call for help, but the same thing happened with my communicator."

She set the items back down. It was too much to hold on to them. They just felt so wrong in her hands. "When I couldn't be a Senshi, I tried fighting it as myself, and it mopped the floor with me. I lost my cellphone yesterday, and my communicator was busted. So, I started to run. Maybe if I lost it, I would have time to get to a phone and call you guys. But it was after me. _Only_ me."

Makoto grit her teeth, trying to prevent the memories from overwhelming her. "It didn't stop for anyone else. If someone got in its way, it threw them aside and kept chasing me. I couldn't call from anywhere else; there wasn't any time to."

Rei grabbed the blackened henshin wand off the table and stared at it in horror. Then, something occurred to her. "Wait. You said last night that you electrocuted the youma. How?"

The shaken brunette let out a short, bitter laugh. "That was the fun part, I guess. I made it to the harbor and saw a city power generator. I wanted to go straight for it, but I got cornered on a dock."

Makoto could still see the youma's crimson glare fresh in her mind's eye. Her heartbeat quickened at the memory, but she shook it off.

"It started coming for me, so I jumped in the bay. I was hoping maybe I'd luck out, and it wouldn't be able to swim. Wishful thinking… But at least it's good and conductive when it gets out. It was a big plus for when it slammed its claw into the generator box."

Rei could see the struggle in Makoto's features. "Well...I'm glad you managed to win."

"Barely." The fighter's fingers tightened around the edge of the couch, as she contemplated how close she came to being sliced in half. "It doesn't feel like a victory."

"But it was," stated Rei firmly, "You're here, aren't you?"

"I almost died last night. And I can't henshin anymore."

"When Luna and Artemis get here, they'll give you a new pen," insisted the firebrand. Rei tried to sound sure. Or at the very least reassuring, in spite of her own misgivings, "You'll be a Senshi again, you'll see."

Makoto simply nodded. They both wanted to believe it. But they could only really hope.

The pair continued their lunch in a dense silence, both busy contemplating the consequences of the blackened husks on the table. The other Senshi weren't long away.

Ami was the first to arrive. She instantly began to inspect Makoto's bandaged arm, much to the brunette's stinging dismay. But that minor irritation wasn't nearly as painful as Minako barreling her over in a melodramatic display of a concern and affection.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" cried the blonde, clutching Makoto's battered form tightly.

Makoto managed to choke out, "Mina-chan...can't breathe..."

"Let her go!" shouted Rei, knocking Minako on the head with a book. "She's hurt, you idiot!"

"Eek! Sorry! Sorry!" Minako leapt backwards and bowed her head several times in apology.

Ami shot the blonde a reprimanding glare. "Now if you'll kindly step away from my patient, I was in the middle of checking her injuries. Everyone, please be quiet for a moment."

Minako apologized again, as Ami returned to her study. Artemis emerged from Minako's bag and greeted them solemnly. They all remained hushed, so the bluenette could concentrate.

The quiet was quickly broken by the sounds of Usagi arguing with Luna on their way inside. The odangoed blonde opened the door to several shushing glares.

"What is this, a library?" muttered Usagi, as she plopped down on the floor. She spotted a wincing Makoto being prodded by Ami and instantly sobered. Before she could hug her damaged companion, she was held back by Minako's light grip on her wrist and Rei's withering glare.

"Now that we're all here, Mako-chan, why don't you explain yourself while I work?" suggested Ami.

Although she didn't really want to go through it again, Makoto recounted the incident. Her teammates marveled at the defunct henshin wand, all terrified of the consequences of its ruined state.

"Maybe...maybe Luna and Artemis can make you a new wand." Minako looked hopefully at the two cats in the corner. They looked away awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.

"We can't," admitted Luna painfully, "We never _made_ the items in the first place."

"They were entrusted to us by Queen Serenity," added Artemis, voice dripping with regret, "We only kept them for you."

It wasn't what the cats wanted to say. And it wasn't what any of girls wanted to hear.

Makoto looked to the guardians imploringly. "I don't suppose you have any spares..."

The felines looked almost ashamed. Luna choked with a heavy heart, "No. We're sorry, Mako-chan."

The beaten warrior placed her head in her hands defeatedly. This had to be some sort of bad dream. This couldn't be happening.

They all paused, waiting in a thick silence, choking on the words unspoken. It came as no surprise that Rei was the first to break it.

"We're sorry?" repeated Rei, with a stunned incredulity. She was suddenly on her feet, glaring daggers down at Luna and Artemis. "That's it? That's all you're going to say about the matter?"

The felines slunk back, and Usagi came to their defense, "Rei-chan, please. Sit down, it's not their fault."

"I don't care!" shouted Rei, "Something needs to be done, we can't just not have Sailor Jupiter anymore!"

"Rei-chan, calm down," commanded Minako authoritatively, "We'll think of something, we just need to brainstorm."

Minako looked to the bluenette for backup. But the fledgling doctor was busying herself with the fighter's injuries.

Ami finished wrapping Makoto's arm slowly. "Mako-chan, your gash has already closed. I would normally attribute that to Senshi healing, but without magic or medical care, it seems too soon for it. Are you sure you've told us everything?"

Makoto's face colored with shame. She had been hoping to leave that minor detail out. The whole experience was bad enough of its own.

The bluenette prodded. "Every detail is important. Please."

"It's just kind of embarrassing, but alright..." Makoto took a deep breath and mumbled quietly, "Igotelectrocuted."

"You what?" asked Minako, not hearing her clearly.

Makoto sighed once more, "I accidentally got electrocuted, okay!" There she said it. The Senshi of Thunder got a taste of her own medicine. She felt like such a fool. She hastily added, "Maybe it cauterized the wounds or something."

Ami reopened the bandages. "Well, that might explain how you made it to all the way here without freezing over. And the tissue damage."

"Wait just a minute," interrupted Minako, "You're telling me that _you_ survived the high voltage, but the youma didn't?"

Makoto nodded in stunned fascination. The fact hadn't even occurred to her. The current decimated the youma, but not her human body. _Why the hell was that?_

The same gears were turning in Ami's head. "Perhaps there's hope, yet."

Usagi frowned and corrected, "There's always hope."

Ami mused, "If Mako-chan can still survive intense electric shock in her civilian form, then her residual powers must not have left."

"Residual powers?" echoed Makoto. She was still a Senshi. Sort of…But not really. She shook her head. It still didn't change what happened the night before. "Well, much good they're going to do me now. So I can take a hit. Maybe I can even heal quicker from it still, but I'm still no use to you like this."

"You can still probably jump really high," suggested Usagi, who was always trying to look on the bright side.

"And hit stuff harder than the average human," added Minako, also attempting to help.

"And you're still a skilled fighter, with or without magic," agreed Rei.

"Yeah, my jumping and hitting skills helped a whole lot when the youma tossed me into a brick wall," muttered Makoto darkly. She slumped, lowering her face back into her hands, as she recalled the sharp impact.

Rei's irritated voice cut through her memory. "Mako-chan! Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to help anything." She laid a hand on Makoto's shoulder roughly, demanding that the defeated brunette look at her.

Emerald eyes complied, meeting the challenging amethyst gaze. Makoto knew what the firebrand was upset about. It always irked her fiery companion to watch people give up so easily.

But Rei wasn't there last night. _None of them were. _

It was hard enough for Makoto to admit that accidentally electrocuted herself. How could she possibly let them know about the fear? Sailor Jupiter, the ardent warrior, had stared death in the face again and again. But Kino Makoto?

Sailor Jupiter took care of youma because Kino Makoto simply couldn't. She wasn't supposed to. Kino Makoto fought bullies, Sailor Jupiter fought demons. That was just how it worked. What was she supposed to do when Jupiter was suddenly gone?

So much happened in the instant that her henshin failed. Crushing loss. Abandonment. Physical pain. And then, adrenaline soaked terror. Where could she even begin to explain?

Rei could see the struggle behind her friend's emerald eyes. Too many emotions clashed within a single glance. The scattered sight of her normally brave companion put her on edge. _What was going on in that thick skull of hers? _

Makoto's face suddenly hardened. A wall was erected. She turned away quietly, and spoke in a rigid, insincere monotone, "You're right, Rei-chan. We'll find a way past this."

Minako cleared her throat. She had been a party to their glaring contest and was bracing herself for an escalation. She turned the conversation away as soon as she could, "Ami-chan, can't you use your computer to...I don't know - check her magic vitals or something?"

Ami whipped out her compact Mercury computer with a certain nervous energy. "Of course," she nodded, "That's a not a bad idea. I'll scan the henshin wand as well, while I'm at it."

The studious bluenette opened up her palmtop only to find a series of archaic symbols flashing across the screen. Before she could open her mouth to comment, the device's temperature rose rapidly in her hands. The searing heat caused her to drop the computer on the floor. Once it hit the ground, it released a small burst.

The tiny plume of smoke quickly dissipated, leaving behind a blackened shell of a computer. The five women stared, with wide fearful eyes, at the broken device.

Ami heard someone utter, "Oh God no..." She was too startled by the event to notice who. Tears began to well behind her ocean eyes, as she reached into her pocket to remove her henshin pen. She bit down on her bottom lip nervously, before whispering her incantation. The wand burst out of her hand in similar fashion.

Ami heard Minako curse from her left. Her eyes never left the remains of her once trusted wand. _How could this be happening to them?_

"This is such bullshit!" growled Makoto. She picked up her own dead wand and threw it violently at the wall. It broke in half upon impact.

"Dammit, Mako-chan! What the hell did you do that for?" shouted Rei, grabbing Makoto roughly by her sleeve, "We might have been able to fix it!"

"Face it! It's dead and so am I, next time a youma shows up." Makoto shoved Rei aside and charged out the door.

"Mako-chan, wait!" called Usagi after her. The sound of the door angrily sliding shut was her only answer.

The four sat there, in dazed silence.

Ami clutched her two broken items grimly before speaking, "We should make sure that this is happening to all of us. Henshin, if you can."

The remaining three took out their henshin pens. A sick feeling passed through each of their stomachs, as they transformed into their respective Senshi. None of their wands acted up.

"I see...so it's just Mako-chan and me then," mumbled Ami confusedly.

"This isn't fair!" cried Sailor Moon frustratedly, "Luna, Artemis, what's going on?"

The cats had been frighteningly quiet, the entire duration of the meeting. Luna stepped forward. "We don't know. We'll try to figure out whatever we can and let you know, but right now we have nothing to go on."

Sailor Mars glared down at the felines huddled at the edge of the room. She had the bizarre feeling that they knew more than they were letting on, but she couldn't prove it. And why would they keep something vital? It just didn't make any sense.

The three returned to civilian form and sat back down.

Artemis finally spoke up, "May I suggest a next course of action?" The women nodded. "I'd recommend you all figure out what you're going to do about the next youma that comes along."

Minako relented, "He's right. We're going to have to face facts. We're down our strongest close range fighter and our tactician. And the youma probably aren't going to take a vacation while we sort this out."

"Hold on, Minako-chan," interrupted Rei, "I'll go get Mako-chan. She should hear this too."

Rei exited the room to find her wayward friend. It would have made her hunt quick and easy if the brunette had only been in the hallway. But of course, that was just wishful thinking. Rei peeked into the next room. She wasn't there either.

_Thud._ The shrine maiden paused. She could hear a violent thumping noise coming from outside. Rei emerged from the inner shrine to find Makoto venting her frustrations on her Grandfather's old wooden practice dummy.

Rei had fully intended to drag Makoto by the ear back into the meeting. But she hadn't been expecting this. It stopped her in her tracks.

In all their years of friendship, of course she had seen Makoto angry before. She had seen her break things in frustration. She had seen her work out stress through punches and kicks. But the kind of fighting Rei spied before her was something different.

The Makoto before her lashed out against her own tears, against her own desperation, against her own vulnerability.

The shrine maiden watched in wonder and concern, as the broken soldier slammed each powerful hit in succession. Wood splintered against bloodied fists, while salty streams of hopelessness trailed down her cheeks. It was an amazing and equally frightening display.

An increase of rapid steaming breaths escaped into the cold wintry air, being forced out by anguished cries. Rei knew she should make a move, any movement at all. She should call out and stop her companion from further stressing her already worn out body. But the firebrand didn't. She simply waited.

Blow after frustrated blow, she stared in silent awe. Rei wondered how much longer Makoto would rage against her stationary foe. Her question was quickly answered as a long sweeping kick to the dummy tore it from its bearings. A rounded wooden piece rolled toward the spot that Rei was standing. She picked it up off the ground and looked up.

She locked gazes with the breathless warrior. And more than ever during this bitter winter season, Rei felt frozen. The frustrated rage she had seen in Makoto's eyes earlier had been replaced with unbridled grief. Despite having brutality taken the arm off an imaginary foe, there was a fearful fragility and confusion in her features.

While Makoto breathed deep the cold air, physically spent from her exercise, Rei found herself unable to exhale. She held the breath and sight of Makoto within her. Neither wandered from their distant spots across the courtyard. It wasn't until a fleck of snow blotted into Rei's eye that she blinked and released a warm whisper of air. White flakes dotted the sky and laid themselves gently on the ground.

Rei shook herself out of the daze that she was in. When she looked up, Makoto stood in front of her, strong focus once again evident in her facial features. It was as if the crack in the mask had never existed.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Rei-chan," breathed the fighter simply.

Rei thought back to her original purpose. Her rage had subsided so quickly into concern and confusion. "Ano...It's-It's alright Mako-chan. I came to bring you back. We're need to talk about what to do."

"Uh...Yeah. I'm feeling much better now. Let's go, then," replied Makoto, entering the inner shrine.

Rei looked pensively down at the splintered piece in her hands before setting it down. Striding quietly into the doorway, one revelation gnawed at her on the inside.

She had no idea that Makoto hurt so much.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Single Handed

What We've Lost And What We've Gained.

Chapter Three - The Single Handed

_They can't help you now. _

continue.

* * *

"But I can't figure out weaknesses without my computer!" argued Ami vehemently. She was fully aware of both her strengths and deficiencies as a soldier. And because of that, she knew she wouldn't be much use to the team in her current state.

"That doesn't change the fact that we still need you, Ami-chan," insisted Usagi. She couldn't stand to see her friends just accepting this. It just wasn't fair. None of this was fair.

"I'm a liability out there now Usagi-chan," the bluenette contended solemnly, "The Senshi need to concentrate on protecting Sailor Moon, not Mizuno Ami."

"But-"

"She's right, Usagi-chan," relented Minako, "As much as I hate to admit it, we can't risk Ami-chan in civilian form. She could get hurt, and so can you if you waste energy trying to protect her."

She shot a sympathetic glance towards her sullen friend. "Unfortunately, that goes for you too, Mako-chan."

The fighter scowled, turning away roughly. "Trust me. I know, Mina-chan."

"So, next time we have to fight, it'll have to be just the three of us," concluded Minako, "The Outer Senshi can help when they get back from their tour, but we'll have to fight extra hard till then. Are we clear?"

The four women grudgingly nodded.

"What happens when the next Senshi loses her powers?" inquired Rei, in spite of herself. It was the million dollar question that none of them wanted to ask.

"Honestly? I have no idea," admitted Minako. She turned away. She didn't want to say it, but they all knew. "We'd be down to two."

The Inner Senshi remained motionless, studying their leader with bated breath, as she peered out pensively out the window at the gently falling snow.

"Then one," she finally added. They'd have to manage. They had no choice in the matter. What could else could they do, but keep fighting?

"There are people out there depending on us," continued Minako quietly, trying not to feel smothered under the weight of it all, "Regardless of whether we can be Senshi or not…In the end, we're the only things standing between them and the darkness."

The blonde turned back to her companions, meeting each of their dejected faces. "Ami-chan. Mako-chan. I'm praying to Venus that this is temporary. If not, then none of us have the option of staying behind. If we all lose our powers, we're going to have to fight the youma with whatever we can.

She took a deep breath.

"Or die trying."

* * *

The meeting had ended on a sour note, despite Usagi's attempts to shower them with optimism. Minako left for an audition, Ami went along with her on the way to her hospital internship. Usagi had an afternoon class at her university. The cats lingered for a moment, before stalking off to do whatever it was that they did to pass the time. That left Rei and Makoto.

"Um, Rei-chan? Can I have my clothes back?"

Makoto still sat in an oversized T-shirt and a pair of baggy pants that Yuuichirou had left behind. Rei had forgotten all about the brunette's street clothes. "Oh of course, I was just soaking them. There's a lot of blood on the sleeve."

"Yeah I suppose there is," recalled Makoto. A phantom pain stung through her bandages, but she ignored it. "Don't worry about the stains. I have other clothes."

"Well, let me stick them in the dryer," Rei offered.

As they waited for Makoto's battle torn clothing to dry, the women took spots in front of the television, letting the noise fill the room. It took less than forty seconds for the voices to become grating. The t.v. was quickly switched off, bathing them in a thick silence. Neither really knew what to say.

Abruptly, Makoto's voice cut through the quiet, "I'm sorry Rei-chan."

"You already apologized about the yelling," said Rei, "I accept your apology. It's okay."

The fighter shook her head, "No, it's about the thing with the dummy earlier."

"No big deal. It can be fixed." The shrine maiden forced a small smile to reassure her.

"I know, but it's just that…" Makoto hesitated. Shame crept up on her. "I'm sorry you had to see all that. Me, flying off the handle I mean."

Rei's weak smile faded. She hadn't known what to make of the incident. It wasn't the 'flying off the handle' part that had worried her. She had seen Makoto lash out in anger before. What she had witnessed, however, was something much more than that.

"Mako-chan, what was that out there?" asked Rei bluntly.

"I don't know, Rei-chan," mumbled Makoto remorsefully. "I'm just-"

She stopped herself and turned her away, holding back the truth stuck in her throat.

"Just what?" pressed Rei. She wanted to understand, but she didn't.

The brunette bit down hard on her lip. Just what? Just terrified. Frustrated. Unable to cope with a crushing feeling of worthlessness. She was a lot of things that she didn't want to admit. She only managed to say, "I'm nothing without her."

"What? Without who?" asked the firebrand, still lost.

"Sailor Jupiter."

Rei blinked. It had never occurred to her to even think like that. Hearing Makoto talk about Sailor Jupiter like they weren't the same person was startling to say the least.

"I-What are you talking about?" She had never felt a separation between Rei and Sailor Mars. They were just two sides of the same coin.

"She's gone," choked Makoto painfully, "Kino Makoto's all that's left. And I'm not enough."

"Enough for what? For a youma? You defeated the last youma and are still standing here to talk about it."

The brunette released a shaky exhale. That battle had been a complete fluke in her eyes. It was practically a failure. "I was lucky to escape with my life. Without her powers, I can barely protect myself, much less any of you."

"Any of us?" balked the shrine maiden in astonishment, "You don't always need to protect everyone. You shouldn't be fighting right now anyway."

Makoto didn't respond. Rei tried to at least meet her eye, but the troubled woman's glare remained unyieldingly fixed on the floor.

"Mako-chan," implored the raven haired woman, "I know you're afraid."

"And that's why I need to fight!" the fighter cried out suddenly, emerald eyes a tempest.

Rei was taken aback by the outburst. "Why?"

The thunderous stare darted downward once more. "I fight because I'm afraid," Makoto admitted painfully, "Every time. The more scared I am, the harder I have to fight. And frankly, I'm fucking terrified of what's going to happen now."

Rei placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Look at me, please."

Makoto continued her concerted effort to avoid her companion's gaze. There was something lately about those amethyst eyes that made her feel exposed. She hadn't intended on revealing as much as she did. But the fear...and the way Rei was looking at her. It was all too overwhelming.

She wanted to leave. To run. But Rei held onto her arm tightly, as if sensing her escape. They remained there, suffocating in their stalemate of silence.

Slowly the shrine maiden loosened her grip. She was trying to be reassuring, in spite of her own apprehension. "You need to let it go," she asserted finally.

"I don't know how to, Rei-chan," admitted the brunette weakly, forcing back the moisture forming behind her eyes, "I don't know how to deal with it other than to fight."

"Let me do the fighting for you," entreated Rei, "You don't have to bear everything alone."

Tears began slipping past her willpower. "But I am alone!" snapped Makoto. It was so like her life. Abandoned by everyone. Even by Jupiter.

"Mako-chan..." whispered the shrine maiden uncertainly.

"I'm alone," the broken soldier stated harshly, "That's all I've ever been. And that's all I'll ever be." She roughly shook off the her friend's light grasp and bolted for the exit.

"But, you're not alone," breathed Rei to the empty doorway, "We're here. I'm here."

* * *

Mizuno Ami stared at the medical charts with undisguised interest. There had been several accounts of a youma attack the night before, with many people being injured during its rampage down the street.

All in a days work for Tokyo General. That's why Ami wanted to work there so badly.

She sometimes couldn't help, but feel partially responsible for the victims of youma attacks. It was her job to shield the people from their demonic enemies. Ami knew that her friends and she did the best they could, but she always secretly wondered if it was enough.

What if one of them made the wrong move, and someone ended up getting seriously hurt? What if she didn't throw that Aqua Rhapsody in time, or if she couldn't find a weakness until it was too late? It was a lot of responsibility to shoulder.

Ami thought a lot. It was her specialty to think. Unfortunately, her thoughts didn't always include the most optimistic scenarios. On days like this, she drew comfort from the idea of healing rather than destroying.

"Mizuno-san?" Ami's reverie was broken by the call of a nurse. "It's late, why are you still here?"

Ami glanced at her watch. It was nearing ten-thirty, and she was only scheduled till nine.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she bowed, "I guess I got caught up again. Let me finish filing away this patient's record, and I'll be on my way."

The nurse rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Mizuno-san, you're not a doctor yet. Interns don't need to do overtime, seeing as they won't be paying you extra anyway. I swear, you remind me of your mother. If we didn't remind her to go home and sleep, she'd be up for days!"

Ami chuckled and finished her remaining task. She retreated into the staff break room to fetch her bag. She was just about to step out and leave, when she heard a frenzied scream pierce from down the hall.

Her danger sense got the best of her.

She dropped her things immediately and ran outside to find a hairy green goliath knocking over carts. Nurses and patients alike were stumbling to the emergency exits in haste, as the beast rampaged. She then realized her mistake. With her henshin defunct, she was no better off than the civilians staggering over fallen debris.

Ocean eyes swam with fear, as they locked gazes. The intern and beast both stopped in their tracks for a single, terrifying moment. Despite the widespread panic and fleeing about, the youma paused and stared. Amongst the hysterics and noise, she could recall hearing only two things: her heartbeat pummeling the inside of her chest and the echoing realization that Mercury was no longer on her side.

Ami could have sworn that she saw a flash of recognition pass through the eyes of the youma before her. Letting out a shriek, she bolted back into the staff lounge, locking the door behind her. After barricading the entrance with all the furniture she could move, she rushed to her purse for her cellphone.

The speed dial felt slower than ever. She gasped in terror, as the wooden door splintered. There wasn't much time.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up," Ami chanted frantically at the ringing phone.

Her stomach sank, as her cry for help went to voicemail.

_"Hi, it's Usagi! Unfortunately, I can't come to the phone right now, so if you leave you name, number, and a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can. Have a gorgeous day!"_

"It's Ami, get to the hospital now! A youma is attacking! I-"

A gaping hole revealed the persistent beast's arm. Her eyes scanned about the room, in desperation. She didn't have time to call Minako or Rei _and_ escape from the windowless room that was soon to have a demon in it.

_Think Ami, think!_

She spotted something on the small kitchen counter, and an idea popped in her head. She prayed it would work. Her life depended on it.

* * *

The youma made fast work of the door and barricade. It burst into the room, ready to pounce on its target. Much to its confusion, the cowering human wasn't in sight.

Ami had pressed herself against the wall closest to the entrance, hoping that the demon would leap right past her. _So far so good..._

"Over here!"

At the precise moment that it turned towards her, Ami threw an entire carton of salt directly into its eyes. The monster bellowed in pain, blinded by the grains burning into its corneas. Taking advantage of the youma's momentary sightlessness, Ami darted out of the staff lounge and down the hallway.

Rushing into the supply closet, she snatched a handful of syringes. She filled them up as fast as she could, hands trembling at the sound of an enraged goliath flailing against carts and equipment.

The demon stumbled about, bleary eyed and in pain. It could still hear and smell its target, but could barely see. Fortunately, that gave the resourceful intern just the kind of opening she needed.

Ami charged the demon, armed with three needles that she stabbed directly into its hairy back. The beast turned in a rage, swatting her violently against the wall. The impact of her back cracked the glass window, and she crumpled to the floor in pain.

The monster roared once more, preparing to move in for the kill. But it didn't make it more than two steps, before its body began to convulse. The battered bluenette forced herself to lift her head, catching her foe's dumbstruck stare right before it collapsed to the floor, going into arrest.

She froze completely, as she watched the youma's body jerk in violent spasms. She stopped breathing, as if afraid that any sudden movements on her part would ruin her only plan. The enemy continued to thrash before her, and then stopped abruptly. A final groan was released, as its massive form slowly disintegrated into dust.

Wide eyed shock slowly gave way to an almost hysterical laughter. Ami sunk completely to the floor, laughing in a proud, but still terrified triumph.

_It worked? She won?_

...

She won.

By herself.

Without the Senshi.

Without Sailor Mercury.

* * *

The nurse whistled once more at the mess, openly relieved that she wasn't part of the cleanup efforts. No, she had a different responsibility that evening.

"Mizuno Ami," gasped the raven haired woman before her, obviously out of breath, "I need to see her."

The nurse eyed her warily. She had been warned about Mizuno-sensei's daughter's friends. The first had threatened a security guard with bodily harm, when he wouldn't let her in since she wasn't immediate family. Mizuno-sensei had to take care of it.

The second had tried to sneak in, by pretending to be a doctor. She might have gotten away unnoticed, if the third friend hadn't showed up, tripped over her shoelace, and knocked them both into a row of empty wheelchairs. Mizuno-sensei had to take care of it again.

"Third floor," she muttered, "Room 3F. And don't make too much noise. Visiting hours are over, but we're making an exception just this once for Ami-san."

The young woman wasted no other words and shot towards the stairs. Hopefully the black haired one wouldn't cause any trouble.

* * *

Upon exiting the stairwell, Rei had to stop in her tracks. The hallway was trashed. A small team of janitors and nurses were working to clean the various debris. She stepped gingerly past the mess and into 3F. Usagi, Makoto, and Minako were surrounding a bed containing a battle-worn Ami.

"Kami-sama! Are you-" started Rei.

"I'm fine, Rei-chan," interrupted Ami quickly, having been fussed over similarly three times already. "Just some bruising really and a few small cuts on my back. Trust me when I say I'm healing fast."

"I see," sighed the firebrand in relief.

"I'm not as bad off as some of the other victims who got in the way," added the bluenette somberly.

Minako cleared her throat, "Alright, now that we're all here. Ami-chan, what happened?"

Ami let out a deep breath and recapped, "I don't know where it came from or how it got here, but a youma showed up in the hallway, as I was about to leave the hospital. And it was after me."

Four faces fell at the news. Makoto spoke up first, "Just you?"

The perceptive genius nodded in the affirmative. "As soon as it spotted me, everyone else had a chance to escape. I barricaded myself in the staff lounge and tried calling, but I hit Usagi-chan's voicemail."

A stream of apologies flowed rapidly from Usagi's mouth. _She was in class and put her phone on silent and it was stupid and and she was so sorry and she was an idiot and she'll never do that again because she was so sorry and glad that Ami was okay even though it was all-_

"Usagi-chan! It's okay," interrupted Ami.

"Anyone of us could have done that," assured Minako, eager to move on.

"But-" Usagi started.

Makoto grabbed her shoulder lightly. "It doesn't matter. Keep going, Ami-chan.

"Uh well... I couldn't reach Usagi-chan and I didn't have time to try anyone else before the youma broke down the door, so I improvised. I saw a carton of salt on the kitchen counter and threw it into the youma's eyes as a distraction. I ran to the supply closet and grabbed some syringes. I filled them with air and stabbed the youma in the back with them."

"Air?" asked Usagi, "Why air?"

"I was hoping that it would cause an embolism," explained the bluenette.

"Embolism?" the still confused princess repeated slowly.

"To put it simply, an air pocket would be an obstruction to the blood flowing towards the heart, resulting in cardiac arrest," elaborated Ami, "It was a stretch, seeing as they're not human and may have vasty different circulatory systems. But it worked."

"Ami-chan, you're a genius!" cried Minako, hugging her blue haired companion urgently.

Ami winced against the pressure.

"Minako-chan, she's hurt. Stop that!" reprimanded Rei.

The blonde quickly released the battered soldier, making a mental note to quit hugging injured people.

"It's fine," waved off Ami, "I'm making my injuries seem a bit worse than they actually are, as to not arouse suspicion. People here know that the youma threw me pretty hard against a glass window, and I'd like to not dust myself off and trot home just yet."

"And where do they think the youma went?" asked Rei cautiously.

"When the police arrived, I was the only one left. And I told them that I was knocked out in the middle of the Sailor Senshi taking care of it."

"Well, as long as nobody is asking too many questions, I guess that's okay," shrugged Makoto.

Minako sighed. It was a welcome relief amongst their increasing bastion of shitty problems. "Now we've had two youma targeting Senshi," she stated, immediately hating the words as they came off her tongue. "That first youma seemed to be after just Mako-chan, but it could have been a fluke. Ami-chan, you said that it definitely was out for you and only you?"

"Positive," confirmed Ami, with a noticeable shudder, "I saw the recognition in its eyes."

"And that brings me to our next fact. Neither of you had your powers when they attacked. I don't like the idea at all, but this may not be a coincidence."

The Senshi team nodded grimly. Minako continued, "I hate to say this, but if another one of us loses our powers, that Senshi might be next."

"But we don't have to be alone next time it happens!" proposed Usagi, "We could use the buddy system or something."

"We can't very well spend our entire days together," Makoto noted sullenly.

"That's true, but Usagi-chan might be onto something," said Rei, "It may be better than nothing, at this point."

Minako agreed, "We got lucky these two times. I don't want a third Senshi fighting for her life alone. I understand that we can't be each other's personal bodyguards, but it'll be much safer if we keep track of one another. Now I live closest to Ami-chan's apartment and the hospital, so she can bunk with me. Mako-chan, you keep with Rei-chan or vice versa. Usagi-chan, stay at Mamoru-san's for a while."

Usagi whipped the spare key out of her pocket and grinned. "I'm ten steps ahead of you."

Minako rolled her eyes briefly, before turning to Makoto and Rei. "Make sure she gets to Mamoru-san's safely. She's the last person I want to be caught off guard by a youma. You can figure out your buddy system arrangement after that. Usagi-chan and Rei-chan, make sure you can still henshin on your way back. I'll stay here with Ami-chan. Cellphones on and ready. We can talk more about our situation later, but it's been a long day. I think we all need to just get some rest."

The three Senshi nodded and reluctantly bade their farewells. Minako plopped down in a bedside chair, put her head in her hands, and released a massive sigh.

Ami, studying Minako's downcast demeanor, spoke up, "You're doing a good job as leader, Mina-chan."

The ocean eyed blonde straightened. "Then why does it feel like I'm missing something huge here?"

"Uncertainty is a part of being a leader," affirmed Ami reassuringly, "The important thing now is that we're all still alive."

"Barely. Both you and Mako-chan were almost youma food because of some cosmic fluke. I should have-"

"Should have what?" interrupted Ami, "There's nothing that you or anyone else could have done. We still aren't sure what's going on and unfortunately we can't do anything, until we get more information about what's happening to us."

Ami grabbed Minako's hand. The gesture seemed to calm the uncertain woman considerably. She relaxed for a moment and was about to speak, but instead yelped, drawing back her hand rapidly.

"Ami-chan, your hand is freezing!" exclaimed Minako, clutching her hand in icy shock.

The medical intern could only chuckle, before apologizing. "I'm sorry. My hands have always been fairly cold. But more importantly, don't beat yourself up over this. Okay?"

Minako leaned back in her chair, slowly taking in her insightful companion's words. "Fine. I guess you're right. We'll have to take it one walk at a time, then."

The two friends settled in for the night. Ami laid back in her hospital bed, and Minako tried to make the best of her chair. The blonde managed to nod off surprisingly quick. As the bluenette surrendered to sleep, her hand slipped over the side of the bed. With it, a ball of snow fell to the floor with a soft, almost inaudible thud. It melted unnoticed through the night, and by morning, was nothing more than an unassuming puddle waiting on the white tile.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Adjustments

What We've Lost And What We've Gained.

Chapter Four - The Adjustments

_Maybe it doesn't have to be so bad._

continue.

* * *

Mamoru hadn't been home yet, despite the late hour. He had apparently been on night shift at the Azabu Medical Hospital, but Usagi let them all in anyway with the spare key. Upon shutting the door, Usagi and Rei got straight to the next order of business: transforming into Sailor Senshi. They were both successful in their endeavors.

Makoto watched the small light show wistfully. She really couldn't remember the last time, if ever, that she had paid any attention to the colorful bursts of magic. She had always been right beside her fellow warriors, occupied with the power consuming her own body. She had never realized how awe inspiring the sight was to behold. The way that Usagi glowed was as if sheer goodness itself was manifesting into light.

And Rei...She had never noticed how commanding Rei's presence was whilst her pulsating form bathed itself in flames. Her entire aura radiated intense shades of red and gold, as her pristine form emerged from within the inferno of her own making. Everything about the powerful display was enthralling.

"Mako-chan?" Sailor Mars questioned, while detransforming back into Hino Rei.

"Huh?" Makoto shook her head fervently out of the daze.

"You feeling okay?" asked the newly reappeared Tsukino Usagi, "You had a weird look on your face."

The brunette coughed, suddenly embarrassed for having been caught staring. "Uh, yeah I'm okay. I'm just really tired."

Rei frowned. She then recalled the awkward end to their conversation earlier that day. Their previous argument had yet to be resolved, but they both had seemed to have pushed their tensions aside whilst worried about Ami.

"Well, my place or yours?" she asked, trying to get them back on track.

Makoto started coughing again, more violently this time, "What's that?"

Rei sighed in exasperation, "Usagi-chan is safe here, since we know she's still Sailor Moon and Mamoru-san will be back soon. But you, on the other hand, aren't by current definition: 'safe.' So, do you want to stay at the shrine, or should I go spend the night at your apartment?"

_Right. _Makoto had almost forgotten. The buddy system. She had gotten stuck with one of the last people she would have wanted to be around that day. Not after having embarrassed herself, like she had several hours before. "Uh...I'm not too far from here. I can pick up some stuff from my apartment, and we can just go back to the shrine. I don't have a lot of room, and it'll be easier."

"Alright," agreed the shrine maiden easily, "Let's go, then. Don't break anything Odango-atama. We don't want Mamoru-san thinking there's a clumsy burglar in his apartment."

Usagi responded by sticking her tongue out indignantly.

They said their goodbyes and left on foot for the brunette's simple dwellings. Makoto was correct. She didn't have a lot of room for another person. Her one bedroom apartment provided the functionality that she required to live, and that was all she could really afford on her line cook wages and remaining trust fund. The furniture had to be smaller and more cleverly arranged to create a more 'homey' feel. She did well turning the apartment into a respectable living space, but it was still a rather compact domicile nonetheless.

Her couch was a bit short for someone to lay on comfortably, and the floor got colder than she liked on these frosty winter nights. The best option was to share the large bed, which Makoto never really minded as she'd did it whenever Minako or Ami spent the night. But she knew that Rei was somewhat sporadic with personal space issues. She didn't bring it up out of courtesy.

Makoto quickly packed her small list of necessary provisions, and they began their trek towards the Hikawa Shrine. They walked in relative silence for a while, both still struggling to wrap their heads around their new circumstances.

Rei could barely comprehend how rapidly things began to unfold. It had been less than twenty four hours, since her friend showed up bruised and battered at her doorstep. Her compatriots and she barely had enough time to really figure out what to do about their displaced soldier, when suddenly it was Ami who had to fight for her life. Luckily, the subdued bluenette seemed to be managing with an impressive amount of levelheadedness. But that was Ami. She was levelheaded. Makoto was not.

The battle went a lot better for their quick thinking tactician. She was accustomed to using clever strategy to defeat her foes. Makoto, on the other hand, relied mainly on strength and sheer force of will. Rei could only imagine how helpless she must have felt having her elements taken away.

The amethyst eyed woman glanced sideways at the ruminating fighter. She cleared her throat and attempted to get a conversation started. "I'm glad Ami-chan is okay."

Makoto watched her warm breath fade slowly into the cold night air. The side of her mouth curled slightly into a soft and bittersweet smile. "Yeah. She's tougher than we all thought."

A silence washed over them again. It was getting unbearable for Rei. Luckily, her restless companion was anxious enough to break it.

"I guess for the third time today, I owe you an apology." Makoto had been deeply regretting how she handled their last awkward conversation. It ate at her at every spare moment.

"And for the third time, it's okay," replied Rei, letting her friend's abrupt exit go.

They reached the long stairway up the hill and began the climb.

"You're not alone, Mako-chan."

The fighter pretended to concentrate on the slippery steps below.

"I'm here for you," said the shrine maiden, taking each icy step with a familiar practiced stride.

"I know," admitted Makoto nervously.

"Let me protect you," implored Rei, as they paused at the top of the steps.

Rei waited, but her broken friend simply shifted uncomfortably and said nothing.

"I'm going to take your lack of protest as a yes," sighed the weary shrine maiden. It wasn't quite the response she had been hoping for, or the intense argument she had been bracing herself for, but she supposed she shouldn't complain. Ami had once advised her to pick and choose her battles carefully. Those calm, yet stern words resonated within her in that moment.

They reached the doors to the shrine and slid them open. Rei halted at the entrance and shot another worried glance at the troubled fighter. She wished she had something tangible to offer, but had only sympathy to give. "If you think of anything that I can do, let me know."

Anxious hands ran themselves through chestnut locks, before Makoto simply nodded. The pair began the motions of preparing for bed. The shrine maiden set out an extra sleeping futon for her guest while she changed.

Makoto, pulling the shirt over her head, noticed that Rei wasn't changing.

"Are you not going to sleep yet?"

"No, not yet," answered Rei. She knew she would be able to sleep. Everything was still a mess. Nothing felt resolved. Her nerves were still on a restless edge. "I'm going to go to the Fire Room."

"Are you going to consult the Great Flame about our predicament?"

Rei shook her head, "No, tonight I just want to clear my head. I'll be in later. Good night."

Worn down emerald eyes followed the shrine maiden's form out of the room. Makoto settled into bed and assumed an hour long staring contest with the ceiling. She couldn't really sleep either. She tossed and turned, trying to quiet her mind, but that kind of reprieve was too much to hope for. She finally rose and looked toward the empty bed.

It had been a quite a while, and Rei still wasn't back yet. Makoto curiously padded over to the Fire Room to see what her friend was up to.

She paused outside the entrance, listening in for a brief moment. The only sound she could glean was the faint crackling of the fire consuming more wood to retain its powerful presence. She peered through a crack in the door. A warm glow encompassed the room. And in the center of it all, back facing the entrance, was a silhouetted form, sitting cross-legged in front of the flame.

The abrupt noise of the sliding door did not seem to faze the shrine maiden. The brunette pushed further into the room to make her presence known. She remained unnoticed.

Makoto didn't speak. She just waited, expecting her friend to eventually acknowledge her. The composed figure remained turned towards the flame. She cleared her throat softly. Nothing.

Rei's eyes were closed, her mouth relaxed, and her nose taking in and releasing slow, even breaths. Makoto had never seen her friend during what she assumed was a deep meditation. The curious woman waved her hand in front of the tranquil shrine maiden's face. The serenity remained in place.

She backed away and sat down, studying her friend closely, wondering what it must be like to feel at peace like that. To be set apart from minor distractions. Rei hadn't moved at all, since she entered the room.

Hesitantly, she placed her hand on the shrine maiden's shoulder.

The form underneath her hand recoiled, and she was grabbed sharply by the wrist. The flame roared behind them, as a fierce expression engulfed Rei's formerly serene posture. Amethyst eyes flared open, revealing the heat of battle within them.

Rei blinked confusedly. The surroundings took a moment to register in her mind. Makoto was before her, looking more than slightly alarmed. She noticed her own hand gripping her friend's wrist. She let go, quickly guessing what happened.

"Mako-chan? What are you doing in here?"

A surge of embarrassment thrummed through the anxious fighter. "I...uh...I couldn't sleep and you weren't there, so I came in to see what you were doing?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "I was meditating," she said simply.

"Yeah, I gathered that," mumbled Makoto self consciously, "I'm sorry, I was trying to get your attention, but you weren't responding, so I put my hand on your shoulder and..."

"And I attacked?" finished Rei.

Makoto's face reddened slightly. "I didn't really expect it," she admitted.

"Sorry," shrugged Rei, "I can't just leave myself wide open. I still remain on guard, just in case."

"But you didn't move until I touched you. Wouldn't that have been too late?"

"Not necessarily. It depends. I can't be jumping at every small fly that buzzes by. I can ignore the small things, But it's part of my training to react to possible danger."

Rubbing the back of her neck nervously, Makoto apologized. "I'm sorry I disturbed you."

Rei waited some more for the explanation that wasn't coming. Finally she asked, "What was it that you wanted again?"

"I don't know," admitted Makoto, "Nothing, I guess."

The firebrand rose and started to stretch out her tired limbs. She hadn't moved for nearly an hour, and her arms and legs had gone numb.

"You sure?" asked Rei, mid stretch.

"Yeah. It was nothing."

"Alright. Then, I suppose I'm going to head to bed now," resolved the shrine maiden. She was able to successfully clear her head of all the built up frustration and worry. She had no doubt that their heavy circumstances would weigh upon her mind once again, but for the time being, she managed to channel those thoughts elsewhere.

Rei started for the door and stopped. She turned, slightly surprised that Makoto remained unmoving. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

An emerald gaze lingered on the flame a bit longer before she shook herself out of her reverie. "Uh, yeah. I'm coming."

The pair walked quietly back to the bedroom. As soon as Rei's head hit the pillow, she was out for the night. At first, Makoto thought it surprising that her companion could sleep so contentedly so quickly. But she then again, it had been a particularly lengthy and unfortunate day. Perhaps, it wasn't so odd for Rei to finally be tired.

Shallow and even breaths escaped, soft, but audible. Makoto rolled onto her side and watched the subtle rise of fall of the her friend's blanket. Once again, without even trying, the shrine maiden managed to achieve a look of tranquility that she found oddly comforting.

No more than ten minutes before, Makoto found herself restless and distracted. Her mind had been racing throughout the events of the day, the consequences, the problems. Her insides had been screaming with anxiousness.

But in that single tranquil moment, her thoughts suddenly quieted. She focused not on complications, but on the simple repeating sound of inhaling and exhaling.

The fighter closed her emerald eyes and counted.

_Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen._

And Makoto fell asleep to the sound of Rei breathing.

* * *

It had been four days since the last attack. It was quiet, which put Minako on edge. She had the three remaining Senshi transforming at least once a day, just to check. As for Ami and Makoto, they were escorted to work, class, and anywhere else. After the third day, it turned out to be Ami who voiced her dislike of the constant surveillance.

Minako, who had been slightly bored during one of their escorts to one of the medial intern's college courses, decided to seek out entertainment in her friend's love life. She attempted to set her the shy genius up with some unsuspecting boy in the same class. Unfortunately, Ami and this particular boy were already acquainted, and well, he had a boyfriend. Thus, the 'Love Goddess's' absurd meddling earned her a generous tongue lashing from her extremely annoyed friend.

During their next meeting at the shrine, Ami more calmly reiterated her need for more space.

It was insisted that there wasn't much else that could be done. Until proven otherwise, they could still be considered targets. The bluenette relented grudgingly. She had actually expected Makoto to do most of the arguing for her. But her normally combative friend remained relatively calm and quiet during the meeting. It was strange.

Makoto was used to her independence and had been for years. She was capable of defending herself against the average foe, though perhaps not of the magical variety. Plus, she wasn't the most patient person in the world. Ami had assumed that, Makoto would have gotten fed up of having to have Rei lead her around by the hand, wherever they needed to go. Or very likely, the tempestuous firebrand would have protested the interruption to her shrine duties that protecting Makoto entailed.

But they both said nothing. And Usagi would be no help, since she would have spent as much time as possible with Mamoru anyway. Minako stuck to her guns and just repeated that it wasn't safe to be completely alone yet. It was four against one.

"Well, I gave it a shot," sighed Ami, "Minako-chan? You've got an audition soon, we should probably get going."

Minako's ocean eyes flew to her watch and she laughed, "Wow, Ami-chan is keeping me on such good time lately. It's wonderful to be so organized!"

An incomprehensible mutter escaped the bluenette's lips.

"What's that, Ami-chan?" asked Minako cheerfully.

"I said, we should walk Usagi-chan back to Mamoru-san's place."

"Come on, Princess! We'll escort you to your knight in shining armor!" proclaimed Minako, linking arms with Ami and Usagi. She led them trotting down the stairs and out of sight.

Makoto and Rei remained, still amused by their friend's antics.

"You know, I love Minako-chan dearly and all, but I can see why Ami-chan is getting a bit sick of twenty-four-seven 'Goddess of Love.'" Makoto jumped down from her seat on the railing and opened the interior door.

Rei rose from her spot on the step and followed. "It'll be fine. It's good for both of them. Minako-chan needs more structure and discipline, and Ami-chan needs to loosen up."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. But still I'm glad I got paired with you, Rei-chan." Makoto flashed a warm smile and Rei found herself smiling right back.

The brunette continued, "Because if Minako tried to set me up with an obviously gay guy, I'd be pretty pissed too."

The shrine maiden chuckled. "For being the self proclaimed Goddess of Love, she has terrible gay-dar."

"Haha, you got that right!" laughed Makoto.

"But then again, you shouldn't be talking so much," teased Rei, "If I remember correctly, there was a certain blockheaded brunette who had an accidental crush on Haruka-san."

"Yeah," nodded the fighter simply.

Rei was surprised to find her friend agreeing with her. She had been attempting to goad an argument, but a far off look of fond nostalgia stood in place of playful indignance.

"I guess I did…but I was young," Makoto added almost wistfully. She headed toward the kitchen to fix the two of them dinner.

Rei sat down nearby, as her friend inspected the cupboards for ingredients. "You don't have to..."

"No, no," waved off the chef, "It's about time I do something. My work schedule lately isn't a good enough excuse. I've been staying here long enough."

"I don't mind," said the raven haired woman quietly, as she absently twiddled a chop stick on the table.

Makoto began busying herself with filling a pot with water. Clearing her throat, she said, "This is probably going to take a little while. So, why don't you head to the Fire Room or something, and I'll call you over when it's done."

"Nah, I think I'd like to watch."

"Watching me chop vegetables probably isn't going to be very interesting..."

"Oh come on, it'll be like a cooking show. Like on t.v., but live."

"Yeah, but those people are ready with witty anecdotes, ingredients prepared by assistants, and charming banter."

"Relax, Mako-chan. You don't need an assistant and you're plenty charming. Now amaze me."

Makoto bit her lip nervously, as Rei watched with undisguised amusement. She picked up a vegetable and began hesitantly.

"Alright. Well, here we have a leek. They're not exactly in season right now, but they'll be adequate for the soup I'm making because the real flavor comes from..."

Makoto continued with growing confidence. She forgot her insecurities about speaking and just let herself talk about her element of expertise. Rei found herself more interested than she had initially expected. When they started, she had just been bored and hungry. Now she was entranced and really, really hungry.

About forty-five minutes went by, but it felt like mere moments to the intrigued shrine maiden. Time seemed to slip away. But so much for the better, as it brought the food closer to Rei's stomach.

When she was finally satiated, the pot was empty. She sighed with contentment. "Mako-chan, make this for me everyday."

Makoto giggled embarrassedly, "I'll make something better tomorrow."

The chef beamed with pride, as her companion's glazed over eyes lit up. She liked cooking for someone other than herself. It had been a while, since her friends and she had been busy with their own lives before the attacks.

When they laid down to sleep later that night, Makoto did what she always did before bed. She took time to think. But this time, she didn't worry as much about Jupiter. Or youma. Or anguish in endless circles about who was next or how she'd handle it.

For some reason, those things weren't on her mind as much these past few days. But why not? It was in her nature to be thinking, worrying, planning, and freaking the fuck out about everything and nothing.

Was she becoming an optimist? No, probably not. That was really more Minako and Usagi's thing. She didn't feel like she was being more optimistic. Just less pessimistic. Things were still shitty and wrong, but they'd have to work out somehow. Didn't they?

_'Just let it go,' _she heard an earnest voice whisper in her memory, _'You're not alone. I'm here. Let me protect you.'_

Those simple words suddenly echoed louder than ever through her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to picture Rei's face as she said it.

Rei wanted her to let it go. And strangely enough, Makoto realized, she had been listening.

The brunette rolled on her side and looked gratefully toward the slumbering shrine maiden. It was nice to have someone around all the time. Some one she could really trust.

It could have been Minako or Ami, and it would have been just fine. But she was glad it was Rei. She couldn't explain why, not wanting to pick favorites amongst her dearest friends, but she was glad all the same.

The fighter's emerald eyes began to droop, as she considered her schedule for the next day. Before she could delve deeper into the details, Makoto surrendered to the lulling sound of Rei's breathing and fell into a deep, contented sleep.

* * *

Rei was an early-bird. Typically when she woke, the sun would be almost finished rising. She would roll over, smack her alarm clock, step out of bed, and change into her robes for morning chores. She rather liked the peace of the early morning hours. It was calm and quiet. And with her hectic life of demon fighting and remarkably loud friends, she really knew how to appreciate calm and quiet.

In the past week, she had added another step to her morning ritual before walking out the door. She would gingerly step over Makoto's lightly snoring form and fix the blanket that would inevitably get shifted down past her waist in her night's shifting. Seeing what strange looking position her friend would move herself into had grown into a newfound source of amusement.

On Tuesday, she was face down in her pillow, with an oddly clenched fist full of blanket. Rei wondered how it was that anybody could actually breathe like that, but the steady rise and fall of her back indicated that she was managing just fine.

On Thursday, Makoto was on her side, clutching a pillow tightly like it was a giant teddy bear. Rei was tempted to start taking photos, but would always brush the thought aside and leave the room.

The next day, however, there was no newly endearing pose. That day, Makoto was strangely absent from her futon and the sheets were nicely folded. Where the hell she had gotten off to so early?

Outside, she discovered Makoto clad in her martial arts gi, moving steadily through her kata. Rei stopped in her tracks and recalled the last time she had caught the fighter practicing her art. Her thunderous companion had been lashing out against a dummy, as if it were her worst enemy that fateful afternoon. It had been a disturbing display of effusion.

In that present moment, however, all of the brazen fury was absent. Makoto looked completely different, though she was likely executing many of the same moves. She appeared much more disciplined and calculated. Her movements flowed with precise control and seeming ease. The strikes to the air were performed with an exacting finesse.

Amethyst eyes became enrapt with the sight of the fighter's form moving with the grace of trees. The spectacle stirred within her like a forgotten memory she couldn't quite wrap her finger around. It felt familiar and it felt right.

It wasn't until Makoto made eye contact, that Rei had realized she had been staring.

"Oh, Rei-chan! I'm sorry I didn't notice you waiting there," smiled the emerald eyed woman, wiping some sweat from her brow. "Would you like me to move somewhere else while you work?"

Rei cleared her throat, "Ehrm no! Go ahead! I mean, I just was surprised to see you up so early."

Makoto approached. "Yeah, well, I've been thinking a lot lately about our situation. It's been almost a week and no attack. The uncertainty has been driving me up the wall. I've been kind of tense lately. But then I thought about you."

The raven haired woman found herself inexplicably anxious. Her cheeks tingled lightly. "What's that?"

"I thought about you and how you meditate to stay focused and clear. That night I walked in on you while you were meditating in front of the Great Flame, it was really something else. You had this look about you that was…well, I don't even know how to describe it."

"I'm kind of unclear as to where this is going," said Rei, preoccupied with the warmth creeping up her neck. Was she getting sick or something?

Makoto scratched the back of her head sheepishly. She had a tendency to ramble, she knew. "Oh yeah, sorry…You looked so damn peaceful that I thought, hey maybe I should try it. So, I went in there one night and tried to meditate. I ended up getting kind of bored and falling asleep."

The shrine maiden chuckled at the image, visibly relaxing. Makoto joined her, letting out a self deprecating giggle.

"Meditating is apparently not my thing," she shrugged, "But then I remembered that _this_ is. I got up early and have been doing some drills and I don't know why, but I just feel better. Maybe it's restless energy that needed to go. For whatever reason I feel a bit better, and now I just realized that I'm probably rambling again and this probably sounds really stupid…" The fighter trailed off embarrassedly.

The firebrand smirked at her nervous friend's quickness to self disparage. "Mako-chan. You don't sound stupid. I get it."

"You do?"

"I'm in my element when I'm in front of the flame. You weren't, so you switched to your own. You're a natural fighter."

"Maybe you're right," smiled Makoto, relieved that Rei was better with words than she. "You know, I think I'm going to try to do this every morning. It's not like I couldn't use the exercise."

The shrine maiden considered the idea. Usually morning chores were her quiet time. She liked being alone. It was a time when Usagi and Minako wouldn't even fathom getting up out of bed to bother her. But then again, Makoto was different. She supposed she couldn't begrudge the company too much. "As long as you don't use this extra training against a youma."

"Yeah. I'm trying. Trying to just let it go, like you said, but I'm still adjusting to this whole 'protectee' thing." Makoto tightened a fist briefly and took a deep breath. "It's not going to be easy for me to just stand aside. So, gimme a break if I throw a punch or two without thinking about it before I get my ass kicked."

"How many times do we have to go through this?" Rei growled irritably, "I fight the youma, you run away. You don't 'stand aside,' you get the hell away from the battlefield."

Makoto muttered something unintelligible under her breath, scuffing her bare foot against the ground petulantly.

"What's that?"

"I said…Fine," relented the fighter grudgingly, "If a youma comes by, I'll have to rely on Sailor Mars."

Rei let go a smirk of self satisfaction. "That's what I thought you said."

"Rei-chan..." Makoto inquired hesitantly, "I've been meaning to ask…Has the Great Flame said anything?"

The firebrand's smug demeanor faded. She had been trying to get answers for days. Hints, glimpses, anything at all would have been nice, but the fire remained blank. It was distressing to say the least.

"Not a word," she admitted grimly. Her thoughts went to the lunar felines and their constant absence and avoidance. They were continuing to arouse her suspicions, but she had nothing except her instinct to go on. So she lied for Makoto's sake, "I'm sure Luna and Artemis will figure out how to get your powers back soon. They've probably been working pretty hard on it."

"I hope so..." sighed the Makoto disconsolately. Every time she saw them, it seemed like no progress had been made at all.

"I'm sure it won't be too long," reassured Rei, "And then you won't have to deal with being stuck here most of the time. I know it's probably hard not being able to come and go as you please."

Makoto scoffed. It wasn't shrine living that was the problem. It was the feeling of powerlessness that was getting to her. She found that she didn't mind living with Rei at all. "I rather like the shrine. It's nice and quiet, and it comes with a pretty caretaker."

Rei laughed lightly, as Makoto threw an exaggerated wink her way. "Flatterer. Well, I'm going to get back to my pretty care-taking then."

Makoto stepped aside and continued her kata, as Rei began to work. Once again, the fighter lost herself in the ebb and flow of her movements, momentarily forgetting her feeling of powerlessness. She took no notice of the way a pair of captivated amethyst eyes followed her discreetly from across the courtyard.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Melody

What We've Lost And What We've Gained.

Chapter Five - The Melody

_It's been a long time. Will you sing for me? _

continue.

* * *

The next meeting didn't yield any new information, much to everyone's dismay. Ami had been trying to figure something out. Anything at all would have been nice, but without her Mercury computer, she wasn't able to get very far. It didn't matter how ultra modern her PC was, it simply couldn't interpret magical data.

As for the guardian felines, Luna and Artemis had even less to offer than Ami. It frustrated the hell out of the former Thunder Senshi to see them practically shrug their shoulders (as much as cats could anyhow) and walk away.

After the team had parted ways, Makoto found herself restlessly flipping through channels on the television. She hoped the dull noise would help drown out the pervading thoughts she had been working so hard to banish. She had been doing so well in these peaceful couple of days, but after having to recap their complete lack of progress, those nagging uncertainties kept swimming to the surface. All her failures, what she should have done, what she didn't do…

She had the sudden impulse to go outside and start running around till she was too exhausted to think straight, but her already sore muscles protested the idea. She flipped off the television and had to stop herself short of hurling the remote against the wall. It would have broken just like her goddamned henshin pen, when she stupidly threw it. Fuck, she really shouldn't have done that.

A new sound interrupted her thoughts. It was coming from down the hall. _Piano music?_ Curiosity pushed her into the hallway. The melody stopped briefly, but when it restarted, her ears were able to trace the tune back to Yuuichirou's former room. The door was cracked slightly. She peeked in and saw Rei behind a keyboard, scribbling notes onto sheet music.

Makoto was surprised that she had completely forgotten about Rei's music. She hadn't heard her friend play the piano since before high school. It was during a school talent competition or something. Rei had written several songs and even sang some solos, if she remembered right. And it was really good.

It was another thing she had learned, or relearned in this case, about Rei. The Senshi were close without a doubt. The brunette thought that they all knew each other really well, but the more time she spent with the shrine maiden, the more she felt like she was only beginning to scratch the surface.

Rei had been a lot more relaxed about the whole buddy system arrangement than the fighter had expected. Makoto was ready to face some serious wrath, but it hadn't really come yet. She had witnessed Usagi overstay her welcome within a few hours and had once or twice seen Minako get kicked out in less than twenty minutes. But it had been an entire week, and Rei seemed as easygoing as if Makoto had just arrived to watch a movie and sleep over. Perhaps she could attribute it to the fact that she didn't get peanut butter smudges all over her friend's unread manga, or try to nurse her to death by blowing up her stereo. As long as she didn't break anything, Rei seemed pretty happy.

It also didn't hurt the matter that Makoto was used to almost exclusively cooking her own food. It had been appalling to find out that her raven haired companion had been surviving so long on instant meals or takeout. Her Grandfather and Yuuichirou's bachelor lifestyles had apparently worn off on Rei when it came to food. Luckily, the frozen food connoisseur seemed to be picking up on some of the more useful cooking tips, as time wore on.

Rei was this temperamental yet easygoing, responsible yet playful, mysterious yet strangely simple enigma. Makoto didn't know what to make of the fact that Rei was constantly surprising her. After the meeting, she had expected the shrine maiden to go straight to the Fire Room. But the fighter was wrong again because here she was, writing what was turning out to be a really lovely song.

Makoto sat down on the floor right outside the door and listened. Rei would start up the tune, stop, replay the same tune with a different note, stop, then repeat. She marveled once again at the sounds of another person under the same roof. She hadn't lived with anyone since her parents died. She had been alone with her plants for over half her life, and they didn't make any noise.

Emerald eyes closed, as Rei started to audition some light humming and lyrics to the keyboard's flowing notes.

_Love brings a lonely lonely heart _

_I'm just all alone now _

_Lonely lonely heart _

_All the joy and pain I feel, I'm always _

_Dreaming it by myself _

The music stopped, followed by the sound of more scribbling. There weren't many words yet. But the ones that were rather oddly compelling. It was another facet about her friend that she hadn't really thought about.

Rei got lonely sometimes too. She wanted to be loved. Makoto understood the feeling. More than anything she wanted to fall in love. She wanted to be in love so badly, that oftentimes she forced it. She was quick to develop crushes that wouldn't last, on people that she couldn't truly imagine being around for very long.

And despite the similar longing within her song lyrics, Rei seemed to take the opposite approach to love. The tempestuous firebrand actively voiced her mistrust of men in general. She antagonized and pushed them away. But then again, perhaps she was waiting for that one guy to break through those walls she had erected.

Makoto tried hard to force love, and here was Rei trying hard to push it away. _Why was that_, she wondered.

The brunette, preoccupied with the contradictions, failed to notice the sound of footsteps padding towards the cracked door. When it slid open, she jumped with a loud yelp.

"Mako-chan? What are you doing out here?"

The fighter cursed silently, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping. "Uhh…well…I heard a sound."

"You heard a sound?" repeated Rei.

"Yeah," said Makoto for lack of better words.

"And that made you sit on the floor in the hallway?"

"Um…yeah."

"Thank you for that very detailed explanation," remarked Rei sarcastically, "It all makes perfect sense now,"

"Well, I…I heard music and I stopped to listen," admitted the sheepish brunette finally, "That was a pretty song you were playing."

"Oh," said Rei softly. A pink tinge began to creep up her cheek. She hadn't intended anyone to hear it, but she had to remember she wasn't the only one in the shrine anymore. "You heard my new song."

"It's really good so far," nodded Makoto earnestly.

"You like it?" She was nervous, but relieved. Although, Rei preferred to carry on as if other people's opinions didn't matter, Makoto's did. Criticism from the Senshi wasn't something she brushed off as easily as she pretended to.

"I do," the fighter replied honestly. She could tell it was a work in progress, but what was there so far was beautiful.

"Thanks, I guess," blushed Rei. She still would have preferred that no one heard it till it was 'ready' though.

"It reminded me of that time you sang that solo in Junior High," reminisced Makoto. There was a song in particular that stood out to her. They were having a tough time with a youma on stage, but the firebrand managed to save them all, and still have the energy to finish the final number.

"What was the song called again?" asked Makoto curiously, "The last one I mean. Eternity something?"

Rei recalled it well. She had saved it for last because it was her favorite. "Eternal Melody."

"Yeah that one," nodded the fighter. "I don't know if I ever told you this, but it really spoke to me."

"No, you never told me that," Rei replied softly, surprised and still slightly embarrassed. She was glad though. It was one of the first songs she had ever written and held a really special place in her heart. "Thank you."

Makoto tried to remember what it sounded like. It had been so many years since the first and last time she had heard it. "Will you play it for me?"

Rei was taken aback. She had just been fooling around in 'her studio.' She wasn't exactly performance ready. Her voice wasn't exactly warmed up and she was a bit out of practice as far as her piano skills.

Makoto noticed her companion's sudden distress. "Oh come on, don't be all nervous."

Rei was poised to argue about being put on the spot, when the brunette took her hand. She met the earnest emerald eyes in surprise. Makoto's reassuring nod quickened her heartbeat.

"It's just me. Come on, sing for me. Please?"

Rei relented and the pair went inside the converted bedroom studio. She dug through a worn folder and set out the sheet music. She sat down in front of the keyboard, while her lone audience member parked herself on the old bed. Makoto leaned her back against the wall and waited attentively. The budding performer cleared her throat and began to play, trying hard to ignore her shaking hands.

_Shaded by the sunlight_

_In my heart you are here_

_Even without saying you love me_

_You are here in my heart_

_Say, thanks for your bravery_

_Look, the newly born power_

_Covering everything, shining brightly_

As the song went on, Rei's voice began to grow more confident and clear. Makoto watched intently.

_Even more than the spacious sky and the sea_

_My dreams have no limits_

_I have realized that because I am in love_

_In the stream of destiny_

_I want to swim together with you_

_Whatever happens to us_

_I'll be sure not to give up_

_Say, I'm glad we met each other_

_That warm atmosphere around us_

_The days of being hurt are melting away_

_I love you so much that I could die_

_Drifting in the wind the seed_

_Will sprout like your smiling face_

Amethyst eyes closed as she sang on. The sheet music was ignored, and Rei began to play from her memory.

_Where there is no sound in the corners of space_

_Everybody is alone_

_When at least our feelings of love meet_

_I can go on to tomorrow_

_The throbbing building up warmly_

_Eternally whoever's heart it is in_

_It will resound loudly, the magical melody_

_Even more than the blue sky and the sea_

_I will chase after my dreams with love_

_Your deep eyes told me to do that _

As the final notes rang out, Makoto released the breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. After a brief moment of stunned silence, she began to clap vigorously. Rei opened her eyes, cheeks aflame in reaction to her friend's attentions.

"Wow, Rei-chan! That was great!"

"I haven't played that song in years," mused Rei. She was surprised at how good it felt. "I'm happy I got through it so well."

"The lyrics are beautiful," marveled Makoto. It was amazing to think that her friend wrote that when they were only fourteen. She, herself, could barely write a decent paper at fourteen, much less anything that poetic. Rei must have been truly inspired. _But by who?_

"Who was the song about?" she asked curiously. "Yuuichirou-san?"

Rei laughed heartily at the thought, "Yuuichirou-kun? No way." She had been waiting for years for that bumbling fool to get his act together and ask her out, but she never was serious enough about him to fall in love like that. He never gave her that opportunity.

"Well who, then?" persisted Makoto. If not Yuuichirou, who was it? She didn't recall Rei having many romances at that time, though she did have her fair share of admirers.

"No one really."

"Oh, come on. You don't write songs like that about _'no one really.'_"

"No, it's true," responded Rei, bittersweetly putting the sheet music away. It wasn't about anyone specific. It was about that special person she was waiting to meet. That special person she was still waiting for.

"I don't even know who they are yet," she admitted. When Makoto's apparent confusion didn't lift, Rei continued, "It's about the person I'm going to want to spend my life with. It's someone I haven't met yet. Or maybe I have, I don't know. It's just about that someone that I'm going to love completely."

A pang hit Makoto's chest. "Your ideal love…"

"Yeah, I guess you could call them that." It had been years since she wrote that song, and she still hadn't fallen in love yet. It struck Rei as sort of sad. Even if it wasn't ideal, she would have liked to have been in love at least once.

Makoto laid back onto the bed and tried to consider her friend's perfect match. "What is he like?"

"Strong, sensitive, kind, not bad on the eyes."

"Hmm, sounds like every woman's kind of guy."

"Maybe that's a bit vague," acknowledged Rei, "I guess I don't really know what he's like because I haven't met him yet. This person could be something I didn't expect at all, and it would be alright, as long as there's an intense feeling of passion."

She had been waiting so long for that kind of spark. She knew it existed. It just had to.

"I would have never guessed you to be a closet romantic," observed Makoto.

"We can't all be out in the open like you and Minako-chan," scowled the firebrand. She felt a bit silly, so she decided to turn the table. "Well, what about you? What's your knight in shining armor like?"

"I'm flexible, but I'm a sucker for the dark haired mysterious types," admitted Makoto. Closing her eyes, she recalled all of the guys she had fallen for that never worked out. Many of them were mysterious in their own ways, but ended up being untrustworthy. She needed somebody she could rely on really. "He'll be someone I can count on in times of trouble, but lets me make my own decisions. He can be independent, but will let me take care of him because he knows I want to. And he doesn't mind that I'm not that very feminine."

Rei blinked. _Not feminine? Where did that idea come from?_ "Mako-chan, you've gotta be kidding me. You're one of the girliest girls I know."

"I'm too boyish," spoke the fighter darkly, "That's why Sempai left. He told me."

In all their years as friends, Rei heard enough about this 'Sempai' fellow to know that he was basically an idiot. But she had never heard that he used that as an excuse. _Too boyish? He might as well have broken up with Makoto for being too blonde. _The firebrand clenched her fist, as she thought about the unworthy fool.

"No, Sempai left because he's a stupid jerk," remarked Rei, "He called you 'too boyish?' Did he know you at all? Boyish girls tend not to love to cook, sew, grow flowers, and obsess over homemaking like you do. And if you drooling over clothes and bawling at every romantic movie ever isn't girly, then what the hell is?"

Makoto sat up, poised to argue, but found herself without any words.

"What is it that makes you boyish?" continued the firebrand indignantly, "The fighting? Why the hell shouldn't women be allowed to fight? Or be strong for that matter? It's a stupid gender bias invented and spread by stupid men anyway."

Makoto stared blankly. His words were so ingrained in her mind that she had accepted them as truth. But logically, Rei was making some solid points.

"I guess I'd never thought of it that way before," admitted Makoto hesitantly.

Rei could tell by Makoto's downcast eyes that the brunette still didn't believe what she was saying. The shrine maiden reached out and gently lifted the her companion's chin.

"Mako-chan," she spoke earnestly, "You shouldn't believe him. He was wrong. Haven't you ever considered that maybe he just said those things because he was an idiot? Or the fact that he was about as emotionally mature as, oh say…a boy in High School?"

Makoto faltered. A High School boy. Breaking the heart of a middle school girl. It happened all the time. Could it be so simple that she was just a victim of youth?

She tried to picture Sempai's face. It was as if it was obscured by a shadow. She could barely remember what he actually looked like. He wasn't even a real person anymore in her memories, just another heart wrenching event.

"You're right," she sighed finally.

Rei stared, still somewhat perplexed that her dear friend had been going on so long thinking that she wasn't good enough in some way. She wasn't the most confident one of their group, but Rei had always chalked it up to a sense of embarrassed humility. "I can't believe that you've gone all these years thinking you weren't feminine."

Makoto had let him hurt her for so many years and she couldn't even say why anymore. The heartbreak had become a part of her. That's just how it had been. But in that moment, meeting Rei's encouraging amethyst gaze, she didn't feel so lonely anymore.

"Thank you, Rei-chan," said the brunette intensely, "It's time that I _'just let it go.'_"

The raven haired woman shot her friend an unencumbered smile. She failed to notice the special emphasis Makoto put the last four words, but she did catch a new glimmer within the brunette's emerald eyes.

Makoto leaned back on the bed and started telling Rei the whole unabridged story of her Sempai. It happened close to the time that her parents had passed away and it seemed like everything in her life had been falling apart.

In turn, Rei spoke about her young crush on her father's assistant Kaidou. The stories weaved into other stories. Tales of woes and joys. The fighter spoke of her beloved parents and the shrine maiden of the wonderful mother that she knew only briefly, as well as the fleeting attentions of her father.

They recalled together what it was like to hold those Senshi pens for the first time. The rush of it, the uncertainty combined with a desperate need. They related the pain of dying for Usagi, as well as the cleansing feeling of rebirth.

The pair talked on, conversation flowing with a new kind of ease and trust, barely noticing the sun rising behind the curtains.

* * *

Song Credits:

Watashi-tachi ni Naritakute (Wanting to be Together With You) by Akimoto Yasushi -

Ending credits of Super S.

Eien no Melody (Eternal Melody) by Noda Kaoru - Rei's Junior High Showcase Finale, Episode 54

Check out Sailormusic dot net for full lyrics and song links.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Kidnapping

What We've Lost And What We've Gained.

Chapter Six - The Kidnapping

_Over my dead body. _

continue.

* * *

Rei made sure to go to sleep early. Makoto and she were beginning to have nightly conversations that lasted well past her normal bedtime, and they were beginning to affect her morning routine. No one really noticed, since the shrine still opened to the public on time, and business was conducted as usual, but it still bothered her that she had been slacking off. Discipline was an important part of her life.

Instead of waking up to her alarm the next morning like she had intended, Rei was startled awake by the sound of arguing. She could hear it coming from outside of her window. She shook the daze from her head and got out of bed. The words were muffled, but one of the voices was Makoto's. The other voice was male. But who? And why?

Rei hurriedly dressed and headed outside. She soon spied Makoto in her training gi, arguing heatedly with...Kaidou?

"I told you already, she doesn't want to see that man," growled the fighter roughly.

"'That man' is her father," the figure in the business suit huffed, "He has the right to speak with her."

"And she has the right to refuse him," she barked back.

"You aren't her," seethed the man who was running out of patience, "Let me see Rei-chan now."

"I won't let you upset her like this!"

"Makoto," spoke Rei sharply.

The brunette's back stiffened and she turned. Rei was standing there, arms crossed defiantly, eyes burning. Makoto slouched, feeling slightly defeated. She was really hoping to keep her friend from seeing this jerk.

"Ah, Rei-chan," said the businessman, plastering a fake smile on his face, "There you are."

"That's Hino-san to you," spoke Rei, glaring a hole into the man.

Kaidou didn't lose his composure or plastic smile. "Of course, Hino-san. How good to see you! It's been such a long time, you've grown so much!"

The shrine maiden frowned. Wanting to skip the pleasantries, she asked right away, "What can I do for you, Kaidou-san?"

Without missing a beat, Kaidou explained, "I am here on behalf of your father. And he wishes to see you. If you'll just come with me to the car, I will accompany you to him."

"Like hell she will, pretty boy!" growled Makoto.

"Mako-chan, please," Rei spoke evenly. The thunderous woman crossed her arms and gritted her teeth, but went silent. "She's right. I'll have to decline your invitation and remind you that I've been ignoring your office's calls for a reason."

Kaidou's shoulders fell ever so slightly. He cleared his throat, "Please Hino-san. Let's just get in the car and we can talk this out with your father. He's very eager to speak with you."

"If he's interested in me and not trying to parade me around another 'Family Values Gala,' he can come here in person to be rejected," stated Rei firmly, "Until then, I'll have to ask you to leave my Grandfather's shrine."

The aging aide's jaw tightened. "Rei-chan. Don't make me force you."

Rei could hear Makoto's stance shift. The shrine maiden, herself, remained still, studying the man she once foolishly cared for. He looked so different now, so cold. When was the last time she saw him? Had it really been so many years? It had to have been, as his hair was thinning and his once vibrant features were muted.

What happened to him that made his eyes seem so lifeless? Where there was once a warmth and kindness, there were petty threats. She hardly recognized him now.

"Force me?" she challenged, with a flash of fire in her eye, "You're going to force me to go with you?"

Kaidou insisted through gritted teeth, "I've been instructed to take you with me, by any means necessary. And I do not intend to fail, just because you've decided to be difficult as usual. Now I'm asking you nicely, to please come with me."

Rei scoffed. It was amazing what her father and his people considered to be 'nice.' It would have been much nicer if they had just left her alone forever. "I believe I've made it very clear in the past that I don't wish to have anything to do with my father or you."

"Be that as it may, I have not come alone." Kaidou whistled loudly, and the distant sound of a car door shutting followed. Two large thugs began trekking up the stairs. "Now, they will do their best not to harm you, but if you struggle and hurt yourself, we cannot be held fully accountable."

Rei's stomach sank. It pained her to see that they would even resort to brute force to get what they wanted. _How repulsive. _

"Tell me, Kaidou-san," she inquired, "What does my dear father want to discuss with me so urgently that he would send you and his goons to kidnap me?"

"That remains to be seen," answered Kaidou vaguely, "And let me remind you, that you don't have to consider it a kidnapping, if you'll just come peacefully."

"And let me remind you, that I've made my decision a long time ago to never speak with him again."

"Regardless of that decision, I'm not leaving without you," he declared. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to remain calm. "Rei-chan, please. For once, just do as you're told. I'm running out of patience."

"So is my friend over there," replied Rei, indicating the gi clad fighter, who was shaking with intense effort to retain self control. The thugs had reached the top of the steps and were waiting for the next word. The amethyst eyed woman stared coldly at the businessman, every bone in her body seething with defiance. "Go ahead. Try it."

Kaidou sighed. He hadn't wanted it to come to this, but he wasn't terribly surprised. Rei had been vehemently dodging them for years, but this time the Senator insisted that they hire some 'help' to persuade his rebellious daughter. He didn't really like it, but he always did what he was told. With a snap of his fingers, the two men advanced.

The one that got closest to Rei was quickly elbowed directly in the throat by the thundering warrior. They weren't expecting her speed. The first man staggered back, choking on his own breath, while the second foe lunged at their new foe. She ducked the blow and sprung forward, fist slamming against the large man's stomach unexpectedly. Her leg swept behind his ankle and sent him falling onto his back, while he gasped for the air knocked out of him. The first man tried to attack her from behind, but she nimbly stepped out of the way and chopped the off-balance goliath in the back of the neck. He fell directly on top of his heavily gasping companion.

Makoto stood unscathed, glaring at her pathetic foes, adrenaline pulsing through her veins. Blood still boiling, she turned to the wide eyed business man.

"You won't touch her," she declared evenly.

Kaidou glanced back and forth from the ticking time bomb to the shrine maiden. Without warning, he reeled from the force of Rei's fist impacting his face. He stumbled backwards, holding his searing jaw. He looked down at his stained hand. He was bleeding.

"Take your goons and get off of my Grandfather's shrine," the firebrand demanded firmly, "And tell your boss to cease all attempts at contacting me, or kidnapping me for that matter. My Grandfather may be dead, but as you can see, I don't live here alone."

The infuriated aide clenched his fist. "Rei-chan, you're making a big mistake." He felt a hand grip his arm.

"I believe 'Hino-san' has made the point I was attempting to make earlier," rumbled a tense voice in his ear. The grip tightened painfully. She came in close and whispered, "Don't you come near Rei again. I'll fight an army of your losers any day of the week. And maybe we can even invite the news media to watch. I'm sure the Senator would love the publicity. And then I'll come after _you_."

Kaidou's eyes widened in outrage. But he said nothing. He cast another reproving look towards Rei, who obviously had nothing left to say in the matter. Makoto released her grip. The suited man straightened and stalked off the shrine grounds.

The two goons stumbled to their feet, glaring frustratedly at the triumphant fighter. One of them seemed to want to initiate a rematch, but the other grabbed him by the arm and shook his head. The taller one could tell that they were outmatched. The pair followed their boss down the long steps and got in the car.

Rei and Makoto stood silently in the cool breeze, neither knowing what to say after the ordeal.

Finally the raven haired woman shot her companion a weak smile, "Come on inside. It's cold out this morning. I'll make us some tea."

A pot was put to boil, and they both sat down in the kitchen.

Makoto's head hung low, "I'm sorry, Rei-chan."

The shrine maiden was surprised, though not terribly, that her self disparaging friend was apologizing for nothing. Again. "Stop it, Mako-chan. You're always apologizing. There's nothing to be sorry about."

The fighter disagreed. If she had noticed him sooner, or just taken him out on the street or by the steps, her friend wouldn't have had to deal with any of it. Rei opened up her heart and home to the displaced brunette. Keeping unwanted slime off shrine grounds was the least she could have done.

"You told me the other night that you never wanted to have to see him again," recounted Makoto, "If I had just gotten rid of them quicker..."

"You don't have to protect me from that," interrupted Rei. Makoto was right. She _did_ say that, but she wasn't a child. She could handle it, even if she hadn't wanted to. "It's okay. It had to happen sometime. And it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"Not as bad?" scoffed Makoto, "They tried to kidnap you!"

"No, not that," Rei tried to clarify, "I mean, I was expecting it to hurt more. Seeing him, speaking to him, knowing what he became."

"Oh," came the simple reply, as Makoto settled.

"It was different than I had imagined." Amethyst eyes unfocused, as she recalled. "The last time I spoke to him, really spoke to him, was when he was about to marry a woman for political gain. And now, you'll see where those underhanded politics have gotten him. He's still just one of my father's errand boys, after all these years. And it's made him petty. I could see the bitterness in his eyes."

"His eyes, huh?" mused Makoto. She didn't have to look at his eyes to see that he was a pompous jerk. It was written all over him like a bright sign that flashed "Stupid Dickhead" in big scrolling letters. But she declined to say it out loud.

"He had a way of looking at me that made me feel special," recollected Rei distractedly, "It made me feel like..." She stopped as she met Makoto's attentive gaze. A wash of familiar, yet unfamiliar feelings crept to the surface.

"Rei-chan?"

"What?" Rei blinked snapping out of her unexpected reverie.

Makoto asked, "What was it that you used to think?"

"We were kindred spirits," whispered Rei, still caught by intense emerald pools. She frowned suddenly, as she remembered their encounter, "But years later, he doesn't have a ring on his finger and thinks he can get away with abducting me just because he was told to. People change."

The brunette leaned back in her chair and lamented, "Man, I wish I would have just hit him in the first place."

"You did plenty, Mako-chan," smiled the shrine maiden gratefully, "Thank you. You were amazing."

Makoto scratched the back of her head, embarrassed over her companion's warm gaze in her direction. "Uh, sure. Anytime. I'm glad I could help out."

The tea kettle shrieked its ready call. When Rei finally looked away, Makoto just knew that she was bright red. She exhaled the breath that got caught in her chest and stared into the pool of tea that was placed in front of her.

Rei fondly studied the blushing face before her. Makoto's downcast eyes and habit of chewing on her bottom lip when she was anxious were all too endearing. It amazed her that, no more than eight minutes ago, this sheepish mess was fighting with such intensity for her honor.

She smiled knowingly and remarked, "You know you're cute, when you're being all embarrassed."

Makoto began sputtering up tea back into her cup unexpectedly. Rei laughed playfully at her reaction. "You're too modest sometimes, Mako-chan."

The brunette kept coughing.

* * *

The ice wasn't nearly as heavy, but there were enough white hills packed on the sides of the road to remind Tokyo that Springtime was still about a month away.

"I'm getting really sick of this cold," grumbled Makoto, as she and Rei strolled down the dust covered sidewalk.

"Yeah, me too," agreed Rei, watching her breath hit the air and escape from sight, "I prefer it hot."

"Hot is fine, but what I really want is rain." She missed rain and thunder. It had been a long time since Makoto had experienced either, especially if she didn't count the accidental electrocution. Which she didn't, because it was totally stupid and embarrassing. "If it would just rain, all this damn snow would melt and be over with."

"Or everything would ice over," the shrine maiden pointed out.

"Stupid winter," muttered the fighter, kicking a shard of broken ice ahead, "What I wouldn't give for a good thunderstorm right about now."

"The end of March isn't too far off," assured Rei, "It'll be Spring in no time. Just be patient."

Finally, they reached Makoto's workplace: Obaa-san's Grill.

"Now, I'll be back to pick you up after school, honey," joked Rei, "Play nice with the other kids."

"Okay mom, I'll be good," squeaked Makoto in a higher pitched voice. They both shared a laugh. "I'll call you right away if there's some stupid monster. See you after work."

"Stay safe, Mako-chan."

Rei turned and started heading towards Minako's place, henshin in hand all the way down the street.

Makoto entered the building to find the busboy Koji looking out the window after the raven haired woman.

He turned back, when she was out of sight. "Hey Kino-san, what's the name of that girl I always see you with?"

The line cook took off her jacket and put on her apron. "Hino Rei. Why?"

Koji picked up some used plates and set them in his tray. "She's really cute. She single?"

"Not exactly." Makoto paused. She didn't know why she said it like that. Rei was single without a doubt.

The busboy grinned. "Close enough. She likes flowers, right?"

"Not from you, she doesn't," said Makoto jokingly. Or she wanted it to sound like a joke at least.

"Oh come on, every girl likes flowers," Koji protested.

"She's too good for you." Again, she wasn't sure if she was trying to sound funny or serious. She stalked off into the kitchen. But he followed with his tray of dirty dishes in tow.

"Aw hey, don't be that way!" he persisted, "Now, what's her favorite flower?"

"I said she's too good for you," repeated Makoto evenly, "And if you bother her, I'll snap your legs in half." No hint of sarcasm or humor in that one.

Koji stepped back. "Uhh...okay..." He had assumed, at first, that Makoto was just playing around, but knew not to mess with her if she was serious. Though, he didn't really get why she got so pissed off all of a sudden. "Whatever you say, Kino-san."

He placed the tray of dirty dishes on the counter and went back out of the kitchen. Less than three seconds later, he popped his head back in the door. "Does that go for all of your cute friends?"

"Koji-san…" growled Makoto, gripping her knife handle tightly. The busboy yelped and his head disappeared from sight.

Makoto began to chop vegetables and thought of the goofy Iron Chef inspired commentary track that Rei often inserted while she was cooking. It was funny that she had always considered Rei to be one of the more serious of her friends. But, of course, she was still learning.

She was learning, but was suddenly bothered by a fact that she realized she didn't know.

What the hell _was_ Rei's favorite flower?

This minuscule mystery became more important by the hour and bothered her for the remainder of her work. The chef asked her raven haired companion as soon as she came by. Makoto was met by a bewildered look, but Rei still answered honestly.

"Casablanca lilies."

"Hmm lilies..." considered Makoto, "Me too. I like the 'lily of the valley' best personally."

"Why do you ask?"

"I'll grow you some when it's Springtime," decided Makoto. A mental checklist of necessary ingredients began to form in her head. Then, she remembered that it would be probably be better to wait for sunnier days. "Just another reason that this damn snow needs to hightail it out of here."

"Haha okay, Mako-chan," smiled Rei as they walked back toward the shrine, "I'll look forward to it."

"So, what did you and Minako-chan do?" asked Makoto conversationally.

"Just talked about this and that."

* * *

"Wow, you're so lucky, Rei-chan," sighed Minako earlier that day, "I wish Mako-chan would fight battles for me and feed me dinner every day."

"Yeah, it turns out she's a really great roommate," shrugged Rei. The transition had been a lot easier than any of them had expected. "She's super clean and I haven't eaten this well in...well, ever!"

"Can we trade for a bit?" asked Minako, "I can't cook, and Ami-chan only ever makes sandwiches."

Rei laughed internally at the thought of those two sharing a kitchen. But she was sure that if anyone could get a handle on their crazy blonde friend, it was their stoic genius. "Oh come on, Ami-chan can't be that bad."

Minako shook her head, "Never said it was bad at all. It's actually been pretty fun. She needs to loosen up, you know."

"And you're just the woman to help her do it," smirked Rei knowingly.

"You know the other night, I got her to close a book and watch a celebrity gossip show with me on t.v.. It was adorable watching her go, 'who's that' and 'what on earth are they wearing' and 'why am I watching this show?' Gosh, Ami-chan is a riot."

Minako let out a goofy grin at the memory.

"Hmm, I can't honestly imagine Ami-chan watching trash t.v.," remarked Rei, "You must be mistaking her for another blue haired doctor to be."

"Doctor/idol manager!" exclaimed Minako excitedly, "I've been getting more callbacks because she helps me memorize lines and get places on time. It's been a super productive week!"

"So, she handles your schedule on top of hers?" Rei replied in surprise. She knew that Ami was good, but getting Minako successfully organized? That woman could work miracles.

"Yeah I know, isn't it crazy?"

"Are you sure she's doing alright?" wondered the shrine maiden, "She's got enough to deal with for her internship and degree."

The budding actress shrugged, "That's what I said. But I don't know. She said something about needing to keep me occupied."

"I see." Rei seemed to recall several failed matchmaking attempts. It must have been driving the bluenette up the wall. "That way you won't waste your time trying to set her up. This is in Ami-chan's interest as much as yours."

"Hey, I resent that!" protested Minako indignantly, "I'm the Goddess of Love."

"Goddess of Ignorance is more like it," corrected Rei snidely.

"Whatever Pyro," huffed the so-called Goddess, "So, my signals were a little bit off a couple times. I know love waves when I see them."

"Love waves?"

"Yeah, Miss High and Flighty. In fact, I'm noticing a few love vibrations coming off of you right now. You've got a crush on someone!"

"Me?" scoffed Rei, "Not bloody likely."

"So who is he, Rei-chan?" teased the blonde, "Anyone I know?"

"No one that you know," denied the firebrand, "Or I know for that matter. Because there isn't a guy worth having a crush on right now." She was being honest. The last guy she was interested in, Yuuichirou jumped ship years ago and there hadn't really been anyone since.

"Suuuure." Her Venus powers weren't always spot on, but Minako was pretty sure that they weren't lying to her this time.

"Whatever." Rei rolled her eyes and rose. This conversation was going no where that she liked. "Now if you'll excuse me from all this love blather, I have to go pick up Mako-chan."

"I'll have to ask her later about who you have a crush on!" giggled Minako fitfully.

The door slammed.

Rei walked towards Obaa-san's Grill internally laughing about Minako's ridiculous accusations of being in love. When she was about to open the door to the restaurant, she was blindsided by Makoto grabbing her hands urgently. The touch sent a small shock up her arm. Even through Makoto's gloves and Rei's thick jacket, she could have sworn there was some sort of pulse.

Before she could comment on the strange sensation, the brunette's eager expression caught her attention.

"Rei-chan, quick! What's your favorite flower?"

* * *

After Rei had left, Minako was off to go hang around the hospital floor, waiting for Ami to get off work. She trotted down the street, gleefully thinking of different ways to bug the easily annoyed shrine maiden about her love life.

It was only a few blocks to Tokyo General. An easy trip.

But little did the jaunty woman know, she wasn't going to make it that night.

There was a sudden noise to her left. She turned and spied a figure at the end of a darkened alley. She squinted. The silhouette looked like a Senshi. She suspected for a moment that it was Rei, ready to play a trick on her. Curiosity got the best of her. She stepped in closer.

A hand reached around and covered her mouth and nose with a small rag. It smelled terrible. She thought she caught a glimpse of a golden tiara reflected in a dirty puddle, but couldn't quite make it out before the world went black.

Minako fainted dead away.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Reveal

What We've Lost And What We've Gained.

Chapter Seven - The Reveal

_We never learn to expect the unexpected. _

continue.

* * *

She awoke. There was no feeling of recognition, moments after she opened her eyes, like one would have when waking in bed or at the home of a friend. In fact, there was no familiarity at all. Where was she?

Her blurred vision slowly adjusted to a darkened, barely perceivable room. It was frigid and dank where she lay. And worst of all her head was reeling. Why was she so dizzy?

She shifted her weight into sitting position. Her winter jacket, leggings, and boots were still on, even though she would never have chosen to sleep in them. She rapidly backtracked her memory. Rei left, so she was making her way to Ami. There was a Senshi in an alley. A hand covering her mouth. And then nothing.

This couldn't be good.

Aino Minako staggered to her feet. She got her first good look around the place. It was a much larger area than she had originally perceived. Huge, in fact, with dirty concrete floors. Smeared windows at the top of the nearly twenty meter walls provided patchy illumination from the moonlight. A metal catwalk with railing spanned the perimeter, looking down on old machinery and a few large chain pulleys.

Judging from appearances and the fact that she woke up on a few lined up wooden crates, she had to guess that she was in a factory or warehouse of some sort. And she wasn't going to stick around long enough to find out why.

It occurred to her suddenly that she had been carrying a purse earlier that day. The bag itself wasn't terribly important, but it contained her phone for the backup that she so desperately wanted to call. It wasn't anywhere near her person when she woke up. She scanned the perimeter with careful eyes and eventually saw it. On a crate, in the center of the room, almost spot lit by the moonlight, waiting, beckoning to be claimed.

She stopped herself from immediately leaping towards it. She couldn't possibly be alone. She woke up in a darkened spot. Would it be prudent to expose herself in the light so soon? What if the purse was bait for another trap? She couldn't know.

All she knew was that Aino Minako didn't feel safe here. Perhaps Sailor Venus would. But, was anyone still watching? Were her kidnappers waiting in the shadows for her to make the second move?

It was risky to transform, but it was also risky to go dashing after her purse. Ultimately, being able to throw Crescent Beams at danger won over her justified concern over unnecessary exposure. The flashy light show would only last a moment and would gain her power and peace of mind. She took out her henshin pen and whispered the incantation.

_Nothing. _

The transformation wand grew hot in her hand. She almost dropped it, but for fear of making too much noise, she set it down as quickly and quietly as possible. A plume of gray smoke rose from the now blackened husk of a pen.

"Shit," whispered Minako.

First, she was kidnapped. Next, she woke up in a spooky warehouse. And now she had to deal with the added insult of losing her magic. It almost seemed like it couldn't get worse.

A guttural roar came echoing from the other side of the room. It was too animal to be human and too demonic to be animal. A youma? Minako ducked behind a wooden crate and peered over the top. Beady eyes. Fangs. Claws. And a disconcertingly large frame. It was no guard dog, that was certain.

Well, so much for things not getting any worse.

* * *

When Rei and Makoto arrived safely home that night, they headed straight for the kitchen. Being around the aromas of the restaurant always gave the budding chef a generous appetite to take care of once she was off the clock. The shrine maiden helped by setting the table and staying out of the way while Makoto whipped them up their dinner as quickly and efficiently as she could. It took longer than the microwave meal that the Rei would have prepared for herself, but it was definitely worth it. The emerald eyed cook was a sight to behold behind a wok, and her noodles were unrivaled.

"So, she says I'm giving off 'love waves' - whatever those are," recounted Rei between generous bites, as they shared their meal.

Makoto raised her chop sticks thoughtfully. "Ah yes, the love waves. She's spoken of mine quite often."

"She kept insisting that I have crush on somebody," continued Rei. Makoto sputtered up her drink a bit. "Mako-chan, are you okay?"

The anxious brunette cleared her throat. "Yeah, ahem. I'm fine. Go on. You were saying something about a crush?"

"Right," Rei continued, "Minako-chan seemed pretty adamant about my love waves indicating a crush. I told her she was being ridiculous of course."

Makoto stirred her iced tea absently. "Well, was she?"

The shrine maiden's hand slipped and she almost dropped her glass. "What do you mean?"

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" asked Makoto, meeting her friend's confused gaze.

"Well I-" Before Rei could answer, the phone shrilled incessantly. "Just a second, Mako-chan."

As Rei rose to answer the telephone, Makoto went through a mental list of potential males that could have caught her friend's eye. How could she have not noticed anything? They practically spent all their time together. It bothered her immensely to not know who it could have been.

"Oh hi, Ami-chan...Oh no, but we were just talking about her actually…No, I haven't seen her since this afternoon..."

Makoto's internal distress was interrupted by the increasing urgency in Rei's voice. The raven haired woman began to wrap the phone cord around her index finger and squeeze. Makoto had long observed that Rei did with her hair or loose thread when she was nervous, so something was definitely up.

"Have you tried calling her parents...We'll pick you up and we can wait for her here...Okay...Don't worry...I'm sure she's fine and forgot to charge her phone again...Okay...I'll see you soon."

Rei and hung up. She sat back down and started unconsciously twirling a long piece of hair. "Minako-chan never showed up at the hospital tonight."

Makoto was on her feet immediately. "What? Where is she?"

"We don't know," revealed Rei worriedly, "She's not picking up her phone or communicator. Her parents and Usagi-chan haven't seen her. I told Ami-chan that we'd come get her. It's still not safe to be alone."

Rei could tell Makoto was ready to do something drastic by the way she glowered at her clenched fist. "Mako-chan, there's nothing we can do about it right now, other than make sure Ami-chan is okay."

Without another word, the anxious fighter loosened her hand and ran off into the next room to retrieve her coat. Left alone, Rei took out her henshin pen and gripped it desperately.

"Please be okay, Mina-chan..."

* * *

Minako was fairly sure that the youma still hadn't spotted her from her shadowed corner. It hadn't attacked her yet, after all, and seemed to just be wandering about. The monster's vague meanderings luckily bought her some time to formulate her escape plan. She could see her purse and she could see the exit door in the distance.

The plan? _Run like mad._

Minako took a deep breath and sprung out of the shadows. She nimbly leapt over a stack of crates and zoomed towards her bag. Sweeping up her intended prize, she continued her sprint towards the door. The youma took notice of this and grunted in her direction.

The blonde glanced back and found that the beast was moving much slower than she was expecting. If it kept that sluggish pace up, her escape plan would go off without a hitch. She reached the door and skidded to a stop.

Slight hitch...

She squealed in panic. The exit door's handles were wrapped together with long strands of steel chain. They seemed to lack a padlock, but whoever put together the makeshift security system made up for it by putting in a hell of a lot of chain.

The ocean eyed woman found one end and began frantically threading and pulling the chain through. As she made slow progress, the youma was gaining on her. She fervently yanked a length and found the other end. Unfortunately, there was still more left on the door handle.

"How many damn chains are on this thing?" Minako yelled in frustration. Before the could get to work on the next one, the giant took a powerful swipe at her. She managed to roll out of the way, though sharp claws still clipped her leg.

It resumed its advance on her, and the panicked blonde did the only thing she could think of at the time. She swung the length of chain as hard as she could, directly into the youma's face.

And surprisingly, it worked.

The demon recoiled, bellowing in pain for a moment. It didn't take much time for it to shake off its surprise and continue its assault. But by that time, Minako was already back at the door, unraveling more lengths of chain. The beast turned and lunged at her. She narrowly dove out of harm's way once more before throwing her jacket at her enemy's face. In the few seconds it took for the furious monster to successfully tear the covering away from its eyes, the swift soldier wrapped a length around its thick legs and pulled.

The chain tightened around the youma's ankles, and it went clumsily crashing forward to the ground. A thick cloud of dust and earthy grime rose off the floor upon impact. Minako didn't let the dirt invading her lungs distract her. There wasn't time. She choked it back and left her eyes to burn.

When the monster tried to regain its footing, the athlete jumped directly onto its back. Another chain wrapped around its neck and was pulled as tightly as possible. Since, she was concentrating on the youma's throat, the chain around its ankles became loose enough to be discarded.

The demon sprung to its feet, launching Minako off its back. Fortunately, she retained firm hold of the chain and was still fighting to pull it taut. She needed proper distance, however, if she was ever going to make this work. As her enemy started to barrel towards her, she released a generous amount of slack, wrapped the chain around her wrist, and leapt as high as she could manage.

Her aim was the second level catwalk. It would have been an easy jump for a Senshi. But it wasn't Venus making the leap of faith. It was Aino Minako, armed only with the vertical leap of a star athlete and the fuel of her own desperation.

She managed to grab hold of the pipe railing. It wasn't as high as she had been hoping, but it would have to do. She thanked her lucky stars for her gymnastics background, as she swung herself with great effort onto the grating.

Wrapping the chain around the pipe for additional leverage, she pulled with all the strength she could find.

The beast had no where else to go. It couldn't jump high enough to reach its target, as it was too far lumbering and heavy. And it was losing ground to the steel the was cutting of its air supply. It struggled, trying to claw away at the chain around its neck, but only caused itself more injuries with its graceless flailing.

The youma made one last attempt at breaking its opponent's hold, throwing its full body weight in the opposite direction. The rusty metal wore roughly against Minako's hands, scraping against opened flesh, but she didn't dare let go. She pulled even harder, and every muscle in her body threatened to detach itself against the pressure.

The ocean eyed warrior gripped for all she was worth. The youma choked out a stifled roar, trying to break free before the metal chain unhinged its neck.

And suddenly their desperate game of tug-of-war ceased.

The weight on the other end went limp, as it dissolved into dust, sending Minako falling backwards onto the hard, grated surface. She groaned openly at the unforgiving impact, head reeling. Slowly as she regained her bearings, she finally released the chain from her bloodied, greasy hands. Blinking away the dust in her bloodshot eyes, she let out a deep, exhausted exhale.

Staring up at the darkened ceiling, she let the victory wash over her. She won. And she had barely a scratch.

_Well, actually that wasn't right, _she realized quickly. She was scratched all over, her arms and back couldn't remember the last time they were that sore, her twitching fingers were covered in a thick sheen of blood, and her brand new leggings were ruined beyond repair from the gash. _Goddammit_, she really liked those leggings. But the bronze lining was that she was alive and not mortally wounded.

It was still a victory nonetheless.

When the adrenaline had finally worn down, she leapt from the catwalk back to the main level. The landing stung her gashed leg quite a bit, but she ignored it and pressed on, not even stopping to wince.

Upon retrieving her purse, she took out her phone. Seven missed calls. Five from Ami.

She winced.

* * *

"You're where?" yelled Ami into the phone. Makoto and Rei watched anxiously from the opposite sides of the table.

"We'll come and get you...But a youma could...It did...You did...Are you...Fine...I'm at the shrine, get here as soon as possible...I've been worried sick...Alright...goodbye..." Ami hung up her phone and laid her head on the table with a huge sigh.

"Is she alright?" asked Makoto, when Ami didn't speak right away.

The bluenette looked up wearily. "She says so. But she's been in a fight. I'm going to need to borrow some stuff out of your first aid kit Rei-chan."

"A fight?" repeated Rei, a sick feeling dropping in the pit of her stomach, "With a youma?"

"Apparently," mumbled the stressed genius tiredly, "She said she would explain everything when she got here. All I know is that she had to kill a youma in the warehouse district."

Makoto leaned back in her chair. "Well, at least she's alive."

Rei held back her relief. "Shouldn't we have picked her up?"

"I asked," relayed Ami, "She said no, it's dangerous and she'd be fine. She didn't say anything else. But Minako's the one who set up the Buddy System in the first place, so I'm just going to sit here and wait." She hadn't liked it, but their leader was fairly insistent. They had to just trust in her.

"Mako-chan, can you call Usagi-chan and ask her to get Mamoru-san to drive her over here?" asked Rei. The uneasiness of Ami's voice and the throbbing in her right temple told her a big meeting was going to happen whether they liked it or not. She rose. "I'm going to go get the first aid kit."

Makoto nodded and whipped out her phone. Rei returned with the bandages in tow. Ami made no attempt to disguise her mental exhaustion. Usagi arrived with Mamoru and felines in tow. They all waited anxiously for their wayward blonde to arrive.

When she finally did, Usagi tackled her with a melodramatic display of concern and affection. Minako winced under the pressure, as her body had been more than slightly battered. She made another mental note not to bear hug injured persons in the future.

"I'm glad to see you too, Usagi-chan," Minako smiled faintly, "I'll be okay." Her expression went immediately deadpan. "But down to business."

All eyes gave rapt attention towards their leader. "I was attacked deliberately. There is no doubt about it this time. I was knocked out in an alley on my way to the hospital. This was between being buddied up with Rei-chan and Ami-chan. Whoever did this waited till I was alone to drug me in a dark spot. I woke up a few hours later, unbound in a warehouse. I was separated from my phone, and my henshin went black. I fought a youma as a civilian. It is dead, and I am alive."

"Yes, but you're injured," fussed Ami, "Your hands are a mess. I'm going to need you to wash them so that I can patch them up."

"I'll do it later." Minako pushed the doctor-to-be's hands gently aside. "Right now, it's more important that we discuss the enemy. The only reason I had stepped into that alley was because I thought I saw a Senshi."

Usagi was the first one to ask, "Why would a Senshi kidnap you and leave you to fight a youma alone?"

Minako sighed, "I have no idea. I don't know who it was. I would have guessed it to be something like a Sailor Animamate, but I swore I saw a tiara. It doesn't make sense though. I know it wasn't any of you and the Outer Senshi would never do anything like this."

"Wouldn't they?" voiced Mamoru distrustfully, "They've betrayed us before."

"Mamo-chan!" reprimanded Usagi. She slapped him in the shoulder. "They've sworn that they won't do anything like it again."

"Haruka-san and Michiru-san have betrayed us before, but this isn't their style," noted Makoto, "They were much more up front about it last time."

"Plus the obvious fact that they're on tour with Hotaru-chan right now," pointed out Ami, "I saw Michiru-san's picture in the paper from when she was recently in Hokkaido."

"Is Setsuna-san with them?" asked Rei.

The room went silent. Artemis, who hadn't yet said a word, spoke in her defense, "She has no reason to attack Minako."

Makoto thought she caught a glimpse of Luna shooting Artemis a dirty look before the black feline continued, "Setsuna-san is with them. And we will confirm that for you. For now, we should be talking about your next course of action."

"I thought about it a lot on my way here," started Minako, "I believe was specifically singled out because my powers would no longer work. Mako-chan and Ami-chan could have been coincidences, but now there's a stronger link. Whoever loses their powers gets attacked. And the next one-"

"Would logically be Rei-chan or Usagi-chan," finished Ami, blue eyes wide with horror.

Rei, who had been entertaining similar notions, was already gripping her henshin wand tightly. She had transformed earlier that day. But she knew that they would all want to see it again.

Usagi and Rei became Sailor Senshi before their eyes. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars glanced at each other uncertainly. One of them was to be next. And there was no way to tell which until it happened.

"I think we should dissolve the buddy system," declared Minako abruptly.

"What? At a time like this?" questioned Ami.

"It's obviously not working," argued Minako, "They got me as soon as I was alone."

"But that's more of a reason for us to have to stick together right now," protested Makoto, "We should give them as little chance a possible."

"Mako-chan is right," agreed Ami, "It's one thing for me to get caught alone, but the last person I want to face off with a demon is our Princess."

"We can't protect each other like this," insisted Minako, "When Rei-chan loses her powers, is Mako-chan supposed swoop in with a baseball bat and save the day?"

"You're damn right I will!" barked Makoto.

"Minako-chan, we may not be much, but we've all survived better than we've expected," reminded Ami, "If you and I have to face a youma alone, we've proved that we can do it. But just because we can doesn't mean that we should or have to."

"If I see a goddamn youma lay one grubby finger on Rei..." started Makoto.

"You'll what? Poke it until it rips you apart?" challenged Minako. The brunette shook with anger, glaring daggers at her tightened fist. "What are you going do Mako-chan?"

"I'll fry its stupid skull!" she roared.

The bulb in the lamp shattered in the corner. The room was plunged into darkness, but they could all still see fighter's fist sparking blue-green arcs. The electric pulse trailed over her hand, illuminating the completely bewildered expression on Makoto's face.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Discoveries

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Eight - The Discoveries

_How long has it been like this?_

continue.

* * *

Ami stared in astonished awe at the frozen shard on the table. An ice crystal had formed before her eyes. She wanted it to be there and it materialized in her hand. It was incredibly cold and solid, just like real ice. But it couldn't be real...

"I can't believe it," she marveled once again, "Impossible."

"Impossible? Tell that to my lamp," groused Rei sarcastically.

"I'm sorry about the lamp, Rei-chan, but you can't deny that this is amazing!" Makoto gawked at her own two hands with a mixture of amazement and trepidation. Moments ago, she simply thought of electricity and created something resembling a Sparking Wide Pressure disc. And then made it disappear. No Sailor Jupiter. No incantation. Just force of will.

Minako closed her eyes and tried thinking of a Crescent Beam. Nothing happened.

"Hey...how come I don't get any special powers?" whined the red ribboned blonde.

"Maybe, they take time to develop after your henshin dissolves," hypothesized Ami, "It's been a little over a week for Mako-chan and I, but there's no telling how long we could have had these abilities and been unaware."

"Hey, maybe we should keep the buddy system after all," grinned Usagi. She nudged Mamoru knowingly and said, "You guys will just switch protector and protectee. And I'll just have to stay around Mamo-chan as much as possible of course. For safety."

"I guess you're right, Usagi-chan," relented Minako. She latched on to Ami's arm in dramatic fashion. "And until I get my new awesome powers, I'll have to rely on big, strong Ami-chan to protect me!" The bluenette released a heavy sigh, but did not protest.

"Well, if that's the plan, we'll just continue on then," said Artemis quickly, leaping down from the table.

Luna joined him and made her way towards the door. "I trust you'll use your new powers responsibly. Now it's late and we should all get some rest."

Rei thought that the two cats made an oddly hasty retreat, but no one else seemed to pay any mind to it. Usagi and Mamoru offered Ami and Minako a ride back. And once the blonde's injuries were patched up, they were on their way.

It had been another long day, by the time the others had left. Rei soon excused herself to go meditate by the flame, while Makoto got ready for bed.

The brunette's mind was buzzing for the next hour. Lying on the sleeping futon on the floor, she kept gazing at her hands and creating small sparks from her fingertips. Rei, returning from the Fire Room, caught Makoto reveling in childlike fascination of her newfound ability. She quietly changed and got into her bed.

Makoto may have been thrilled, but the sight of a civilian Senshi toying with magic in her hand was incredibly unnerving to the shrine maiden. It didn't feel right at all.

"Can you believe it, Rei-chan?" asked Makoto excitedly, "Just when we think we're down, we're thrown a bone."

Rei shifted uneasily. She didn't know exactly how to begin explaining why this didn't feel like 'being thrown a bone.' She had beelined straight for the Fire Room to try and get some perspective, or at the very least, calm her nerves. But she emerged as anxious as ever. The only conclusion she was able to come to wasn't a pleasant one.

She was next.

The gravity of the situation had never been lost on her. She had been considering what it was going to be like to lose her powers for a while now. But knowing with certainty that it was going to be her turn made it different. Everything about the inevitable fight for her life was real now. She could very well die the next day.

"Come on, this is good news," insisted Makoto, noticing Rei's hesitation, "We're not completely powerless now."

Rei gripped her pillow tighter. "Power? Is that what it is? Ami-chan can make ice cubes, and you can burn out a lightbulb. Is that really going to be enough power to face our enemies?"

Makoto shifted to her side and noticed her friend had her back turned. "I...well, probably not just that, but I'm planning to test out the full range of my abilities tomorrow. In the woods nearby, of course."

Desolate amethyst eyes clenched shut. "And what if your full range isn't up to the task? What if the best you can do, isn't going to defeat that slobbering youma that's so dead set on ripping you to shreds? What if you exhaust all possible options and have nothing left to throw?"

The brunette faltered, getting the distinct impression that they were no longer having the same conversation. "Hold on, a sec. Something's bothering you. What's wrong?"

There was a period of silence. Makoto waited for patiently for a response. When one refused to surface, she removed her covers and went to sit down on the bed.

"Hey, look at me. Is something wrong?" She reached out and laid a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm scared Mako-chan," Rei admitted finally. She hated saying it. Oh, she really hated saying it, but it was true. She wanted to put on a brave face, or at least a calm or composed one. But she was having trouble hiding the fact that she wasn't alright.

"Rei-chan?" Makoto tried to get her friend to meet her eye, but the shrine maiden remained turned away.

Rei regretted her honesty immediately. However, it was too late to drum up some false confidence. She acknowledged painfully, "It's my turn. I'm going to lose my henshin and I can't stop it."

Makoto tried to be reassuring. "Well, that's the whole reason I'm here. The buddy system, right?"

Rei frustratedly sat up and glared. "Screw the buddy system! Minako-chan was right. It can't work twenty-four hours a day. The minute she was alone, she was dragged off and pitted against a demon, whether she liked it or not. At some point, I'm going to have to face one whether I like it or not. What the hell am I supposed to do then?"

Makoto met the fire within Rei's conflicted gaze. Her own eyes narrowed and she said with conviction, "Win. That's what."

"Oh, so it's that easy?" countered Rei sarcastically.

The hardened fighter shook her head. "No, it's not easy." Her tempestuous friend's flare up of anger dulled slightly. "It'll probably be hard as hell. But I know you'll win, Rei-chan."

"How can you know that?" snapped Rei sharply. She was a trained psychic and she didn't even know that. Who was Makoto to say whether she'd live or die? "Anything could happen."

"Anything could happen yes," acknowledged Makoto, "But the three of us have proved it that it can be done. If I can do it, you can too."

Rei turned away and rested her head on her knees. Makoto leaned back against the wall, taking in a subdued breath.

"Rei-chan, remember what I said earlier? I said that if I ever saw a youma try and hurt you, I'd fry its skull. I will fight for if I can. But I know that I can't protect you from everything. Trust me I'd like to, but I also know that I don't have to. You've proved time and time again that you can take care of yourself."

She waited to see if any of her words were sinking in, but the shrine maiden didn't stir at all. The brunette sighed, poised to retreat.

Rei's response came as an almost inaudible whimper. "I don't know if I can do it alone."

She tried once more to meet her friend's gaze to no avail. A head of raven locks remained downcast while the fighter spoke on. "You won't. You'll have Ami-chan's brains, Minako-chan's speed, and my uncanny ability to get up after being thrown into a wall. You'll be by yourself, but you've taught me that we don't have to be alone."

Makoto reached out and gently tilted Rei's chin upwards. "You said it yourself, remember?"

A bewildering rush of feeling burned within her, upon meeting the earnest emerald gaze. The tears she had been holding back ran past her eyelids and down her cheek, before she impulsively propelled herself into Makoto's arms.

It hadn't exactly been the reaction the brunette had been expecting, but she didn't let her surprise stop her from wrapping her crying companion within a comforting embrace.

"Shh...it's okay."

Makoto held Rei firmly, continuing to whisper encouragement and reassurance in her ear. After a while, the raven haired woman stopped shaking. The tears of doubt and inexplicable emotion subsided into the calm, and they remained together, still and quiet.

Makoto didn't dare let go. And it didn't matter. Rei didn't want her to.

It wasn't until sleep crept up on the worn out shrine maiden that the fighter attempted to move. She tried to gently retract herself and return to her proper place on the floor for the night. However, Rei's weight was still slung over Makoto's middle, making it difficult to move away without running the risk of disturbing her finally peaceful slumber.

The fighter didn't want to wake her. Not after all that.

Soon enough, Rei's breathing became deep and even. The dull noise began to once more affect Makoto's ability to keep focus. She idly considered moving the shrine maiden's arm anyway. The thought was smothered by a dream that she was flying.

As Makoto whisked through the air, she felt her hand grabbed by another. She smiled.

* * *

Blurry amethyst eyes crept open the next morning. Rei had a series of strange dreams, but they were fading fast from her memory. It was usually the case. The muddled haze always settled, once she started to regain her bearings.

Something wasn't the same this morning, however. There was a weight pressed against her back and around her waist. It was warm and moving. A body.

_Makoto?_

Rei blinked in confusion, but managed to stay perfectly still. She searched quickly through her memories, piecing together the story of how they ended up like that.

She remembered crying. Makoto held her. It felt so nice to be held. She hadn't felt protected quite like that since her mother had been alive. That warm feeling was the last thing that she could recall from the night before.

She found herself on her right side, with her arm around a pillow. Makoto was curled up against her. They must have moved into the position in their sleep.

The shrine maiden remained motionless. She wasn't sure why, but instead of removing herself, she simply marveled at the touch. Normally, Rei didn't like to be touched unexpectedly. Surprise hugs from people she didn't know well made her flinch, being touched on the shoulder often made her jumpy, and certain areas, that she would never, ever in a million years admit to, were incredibly ticklish. Yet, at that moment, she found her whole self completely at ease. As if this position was as natural as breathing.

The fighter's long arm draped over her waist, warm skin contacting an exposed section of her stomach. She became dimly conscious of Makoto's head resting mere centimeters above hers. She could feel the slow rise of fall of the brunette's chest against her back.

Rei, now awake and aware, could move anytime. So, why didn't she?

Before she could fully weigh the implications of rising or at least breaking contact, Rei felt Makoto shift on her own. The fighter inhaled a large breath and stirred. She instinctively shut her eyes tight and feigned sleep.

Behind closed eyes and shallow breathing, the shrine maiden was keenly aware.

She could feel Makoto tense for a moment before releasing a great sigh. The arm was very lightly and carefully retracted. Slowly, the weight against her back was also removed. She listened to her friend gingerly step out of the bed. The rustling sound of clothes being changed filled the quiet room.

The door slid open. She waited for the sound of its closing to finally open her eyes. But the noise didn't come. Just a pause. The steady beat of soft footsteps approaching was followed by a warm touch on the top of her face. Makoto pushed away some stray hairs from her forehead and laid a gentle kiss in their wake. Then the door slid shut.

Amethyst eyes shot open. She could still feel the lingering sensation from the fighter's lips. Her heart was pounding.

* * *

Minako waved goodbye to the passing car and began to trek the many stairs leading up to the shrine. Soft cries accompanying dull thumps were getting louder by the second. She smiled fondly at the sight of Makoto in her training gi, doing morning drills.

"Up and to them already, huh Mako-chan?" she called out.

_'Up and at em,' _Makoto wanted to reply, but she let that one go. Instead she stopped her kata and asked, "What are you doing up so early?"

"Oh you know, a slow and steady bird wins the race against the worm early in the morning!" responded Minako.

"I uh…" Makoto stared, puzzling over the butchered quotation. "So, what are you doing up so early?" she repeated.

"Hey, I can be up at 8AM, if I want to!" the red ribboned blonde scoffed indignantly.

The fighter shrugged. "Yeah, but you never seem to want to."

Minako rolled her eyes. "Whatever. If you must know, Ami-chan has an early class. Venus knows I wouldn't sign up for it. Our little genius drove me over here so that strange Senshi wouldn't kidnap me and sick their incompetent monsters on me."

"Fair enough."

Makoto resumed her drills and expected the blonde to go into the inner shrine. Minako lingered.

"So, what's for breakfast?"

The fighter began a series of swift kicks. "I'll tell you when I'm finished."

"And when's that?"

She stopped, trying out one of Rei's withering glares on Minako. "When a certain blonde leaves me to concentrate on my training."

Minako crossed her arms and raised her nose into the air with a 'hmph' sound. "Fine!" She spun on her heel dramatically. "I see when I'm not wanted. I need to talk Rei-chan anyway!"

The affronted actress retreated into the shrine, while her friend continued her exercises. She found Rei sitting in the t.v. room. The television was on, yet the raven haired woman was lying down, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Ohayo, Rei-chan!" greeted Minako cheerfully.

"Mina-chan?" Rei shifted, surprised to see her blonde companion. "What are you doing up so early?"

Minako bristled, "Why is that the first thing everyone is asking me today?"

"Uh, never mind. Let me rephrase. What brings you here?"

"Well, Ami-chan has a class, and I also wanted to talk to you."

Rei sat up and flipped off the television. "Senshi business?"

Minako sat beside her. "Sort of. Nothing monstery. Just…Hmm…How do I phrase this…" Rei waited stoically, as the ocean eyed woman pondered. "Rei-chan, what's it like when you sense danger?"

The shrine maiden raised an eyebrow. It sure sounded like Senshi business to her. "What do you mean?"

"What does it feel like?" Minako clarified, "I mean, do you see visions in your head or get a tingly feeling?"

"I've never had to describe it," admitted Rei. What was it like? She pondered the sensation. "I would say it's kind of like the feeling you get when you realize that you've forgotten something. Or when a really good idea strikes you out of nowhere. Something just comes to me."

"But you don't _see_ anything? Like freaky danger waves or anything?"

"Can't say that I do," shrugged the psychic.

"Oh," pouted Minako.

Rei remained vexed at how disappointed Minako sounded. "Why do you want to know?"

"I think something's wrong with my powers," revealed Minako finally. She shuffled her feet anxiously and continued. "I'm seeing things. It's weird. It's been coming and going. But, sometimes I look at certain people and I see this really faint glow."

Rei cocked her head to the side curiously. "A glow?"

"I'm not sure what it is." Minako studied her friend intently. "But right now, Rei-chan...You're glowing too."

Rei looked at her hands. She examined her arms and legs. And saw nothing. "It's probably just some sort of Venus power that you're developing."

"That's what I'm thinking," said Minako. It had to have been a new ability, but she had no idea what it was supposed to even do. _Why didn't these things ever come with instruction manuals?_ "I'm not sure what it is though. I don't even know how to turn it off!"

Rei contemplated, "A lot of your powers are light based. Maybe you're exposing people's inner light?"

"That makes sense." The troubled blonde considered the notion for a moment. "But what about my inner light? Why are you giving off this energy, but I'm not? I'm as much of a justice fighter as you are. Ami-chan wasn't glowing either, but this couple on the street was, and so was this kid waiting at the bus stop, and this ridiculously huge cat at the bottom of the shrine steps."

The shrine maiden glanced at her arms again, though she couldn't fathom what it was like to see them glowing. She had expected Minako's new powers to be light based, but not like that. Something more like summoning Love-Me Chains was a lot easier to comprehend. So what was it? Venus's powers were about light, sometimes were metal related, and-

"Ohayo!" The door opened suddenly to reveal a grinning Makoto.

Rei jumped slightly and stammered, "O-Ohayo Mako-chan."

"Rei-chan, I hope you slept well!"

A flush of pink overtook her cheeks. "Yeah. I did. Thank you."

Makoto shot a quick wink her way and turned towards their blonde friend. "Minako-chan, we're going with eggs today. I'm going to change real quick. Breakfast in twenty!"

The door slid shut, and the sound of the green eyed chef whistling a jovial tune faded down the hallway.

Rei slid her fingers through her raven locks and released a small sigh before returning her disheveled attentions back to Minako. The blonde was staring at her, wide eyed and slack jawed.

"Is there something on my face?" she asked self consciously.

Minako shook her head numbly, muttering an incoherent response. She had just figured out a new theory on what her power might be. And it was way weirder than she had originally thought.

When Makoto popped her head in, Minako noticed a serious change. Before her eyes, Rei's glow went from a pale, transparent glimmer to a more intense shine. At the same time, she took notice of the shrine maiden's sudden fidgeting. Her body went tense, as if she was nervous for some reason. And as soon as Makoto addressed her, Rei's face went a deeper red.

The changes were subtle. If she hadn't been already examining her friend, due to the inexplicable increase of radiance, Minako might have missed it. The light dulled down soon after Makoto left the room, and Rei appeared relieved.

And suddenly the light wasn't so inexplicable. It hit her like a surprise Crescent Beam to the face.

Love waves.

Love waves were for real? Minako was half joking, half seriously relying on her gut instinct, and half believing she was being guided by the spirit of Venus. Wait, that was too many halves, realized the blonde. She pushed the thought aside. Unimportant. The important thing was: all of a sudden, she really was the Goddess of Love.

It made so much more sense. She had been teasing her cranky friend about her love waves. Rei insisted there wasn't a guy in her life. And there wasn't. But Rei still had a crush. Minako could see it clearly.

Rei had a crush on Makoto.

"If there's nothing on my face, then what are you staring at?"

Minako blinked. She awoke from her jumbled musings, finding herself on the receiving end of one of Rei's irritable glares. "Nothing!" she squeaked, "I was just thinking real hard about something."

"That's a first," remarked the firebrand sarcastically.

The indignant retort that Rei was expecting out of her friend never came. The red ribboned blonde made no mention of the comment. Instead she sprang impulsively out of her seat. "I've got to go!" she croaked an octave too high, "Go to…to the bathroom. I'll be back!"

Minako made for the door quickly, but made a special effort not to just bolt. Rei called after her, "Alright, I'll be in kitchen with Mako-chan, then. Maybe she'll have some sort of insight into your powers."

The jumpy actress skidded in her tracks. "I was just thinking that maybe we could keep this between us for now."

A combination of bewilderment and annoyance at Minako's unexplained theatrics flashed across Rei's face.

"What? Why?"

"Because a woman's magical powers are very personal!" stammered the blonde. She floundered, reaching gracelessly for another possible excuse. Her brain was far too frazzled at that point to come up with one, however. "Never mind. I'll tell you later. Just promise not to tell anyone we talked about this."

Rei released a disgusted sigh. She didn't attempt to rationalize the inner machinations of Minako's mind. She knew from experience that it was sometimes best not to bother. "Whatever you say, Mina-chan."

Minako spun on her heel and darted into the washroom. She turned towards the sink, fervently splashing chilled water against her face. A hard look in the mirror showed that she wasn't glowing at all. The corners of her mouth downturned as a tinge of jealousy shot through her. _To be in love…_

_To be in love…with Makoto. _

She yelped, splashing more water on her face. It was much too strange to think of. Not because it involved two females. Because those two females were Rei and Makoto. Two of her best friends. Together?

She reached for a towel and dried her face. A new uncertainty made itself startlingly apparent. Rei liked Makoto, but did Makoto feel the same? She had been too busy looking at the shine maiden to notice.

She made her way in the direction of the kitchen and snuck quietly towards the door. Peering in through a crack, she tried her best not to make a sound. Parts of their conversation could be made out if she concentrated. She bit her lip nervously. A thin shine emanated from Makoto. It pulsed slightly brighter, when she smiled at Rei.

That answered that question. The next one was: Did they have any idea that they were in love?

She leaned in closer, straining her focus.

"Thanks again for last night, Mako-chan," she heard Rei say. Minako's jaw dropped.

She caught her own breath for Makoto's reply. "No problem. I hope you weren't uncomfortable with me probably taking up more than half the bed."

At that point, she lost her balance and fell over with a noisy thud. The door slid open all the way. Rei and Makoto loomed over the bewildered blonde.

"Mina-chan?" questioned Makoto.

"Uh hi, guys!" she chuckled nervously, "I was so excited for breakfast that I just tripped. Funny, huh?"

"Let me know if you want me to help you do your hair in odangoes later. I swear you clumsy oafs have to be related somehow." Rei rolled her eyes and returned to the kitchen. Makoto helped the Minako to her feet and led her safely to a chair.

"Wait there," said Makoto, "It'll be done soon."

Minako sat silently, trying to observe the interactions between her two friends. They made no more mention of the previous night. Conversation flowed through various unassuming topics.

If they were trying to hide an illicit love affair, they were doing a good job. By the end of breakfast, Minako's mind drifted towards thoughts of slumber. Screw the bird worm races. It was way too early to be this stressed out.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Vision

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Nine - The Vision

_They may not even realize what's happening._

continue.

* * *

Minako ate and excused herself from the room promptly. She took flight on the claim that she required much more beauty sleep to retain her extraordinary good looks. Rei and Makoto thought nothing of it. It was only a little past nine in the morning. Whether it was beauty sleep or sheer laziness, they both knew that their blonde companion's slumber usually took her to at least eleven.

While it was true that she was tired, more than anything, Minako just needed a break from her friends. She was anxious to sort out the ramifications of her new powers, before the pair's constant love wave barrage drove her crazy. She flopped down on Rei's bed and stared at the ceiling.

Minako had been hoping for laser vision or something. But this was _way_ cooler than that. It was like seeing the Tokyo Celebrity Insider Scoop two days before it aired on Channel Six. She could _see_ people in love. It was incredible. A huge smile overtook her face. She was the Goddess of Love without the hit or miss guessing. The real thing.

She rolled over to her side and spied a chestnut strand resting upon the shrine maiden's pillow. It was a hair that couldn't have possibly belonged to Rei, on a bed that Makoto had just earlier apologized for taking up too much of. Minako took the stray hair between two fingers and a new realization washed over her.

_With magic powers comes magic responsibilities. _

Venus had granted her this gift for a reason. She knew what she had to do. Become the greatest Matchmaker in the galaxy.

Oh Rei and Makoto were definitely in love. She had a thin strand of evidence between her index finger and thumb to support her amazing new Love Vision.

But how long have they been hiding it? Were they planning on going public with their affair? Either way, Venus probably needed her to give them a push. Oh, and a pushing she would go.

After her nap, however. It was too early. She needed her beauty sleep.

* * *

Minako was startled awake by a loud boom. It sounded like a bomb going off. Well, it probably was the similar to a bomb. She had never actually seen or heard an actual bomb outside of the movies, but if she had to guess, then yeah, it was a bomb. It exploded and they were probably all dead.

_Wait. No. That couldn't be right. _The muddled woman knew she was alive. Alive and dazed. She shook her sleep addled head. There were pressing questions that needed to be answered.

What time was it? Where was she? And what the hell was that noise?

She glanced at her phone. Half past noon. She looked around. She was in Rei's bed. That all made sense. Way better than a dank abandoned warehouse of death. She yawned, stepping lightly out of the bed and out the door. As she ambled down the hallway, she could hear the sounds of Rei having a fit. _Uh oh, what happened now?_

Minako slid the outer door open carefully and was baffled by what she saw. A massive fallen tree had laid waste to the once pristine courtyard. Ami stood at one side, mouth agape, as Rei chased Makoto around the property swinging a broom.

"Rei-chan! I didn't know that was gonna happen!" cried Makoto, ducking yet another swipe.

"You told me yesterday that you were going to practice in the woods!" roared the firebrand, "My courtyard isn't the woods!"

Minako sauntered up to Ami and whistled at the crazy mess the tree had made. "Uh. Dare I ask what happened?"

Ami released a deep breath, running a hand through her blue locks to calm her remaining surprise. "Mako-chan was attempting to test the extent of her new lightning powers. They're a bit more dangerous then she had expected."

Minako's eyes trailed down the tree's trunk. A clean split had occurred at the base. It was as if the tree had been hit at just the right spot by a bolt of lightning.

"I swear I'll clean it up! Ow!" Makoto received a nasty bonk in the head by the offending broom.

Rei stopped swinging. Makoto skidded in her tracks and turned cautiously towards the fiery eyed shinto maiden. "All of it?"

She nodded vigorously. "Every last branch!"

The tempestuous shrine maiden lowered her broom and shoved it roughly into the brunette's hands. "There's an axe in the tool shed. Get started."

Makoto sighed and hung her head low, as she walked towards the shed.

"Don't either of you try to help her." The firebrand stalked off into the interior shrine.

Minako and Ami watched as their defeated friend piteously returned with an axe and hand saw. She glanced around suddenly. "Is Rei-chan gone?"

"Yeah, I think so," replied Minako, nodding towards the inner shrine.

"Good," smiled Makoto, as she amped up her lightning. A couple of well placed strikes would have the tree in pieces in no time at all.

That was, until a shout came from the doorway. "No powers or you're sleeping outside tonight!"

The trio turned to find a fiery eyed Rei, fuming with arms crossed. How did she hear that from all the way over there?

"But, Rei-chan! This thing is huge!" whined the brunette.

Minako turned back towards the giant mess Makoto had inadvertently made. It must have taken some serious magic to make that big of a wreck. Did Rei seriously expect her to clean it up by hand?

"You should have thought of that before you knocked it over!" yelled the furious shrine maiden. Minako shrugged. That answered that. She was glad she had been sleeping and had nothing to do with it.

Makoto sighed dejectedly and picked up the saw. She shot Minako and Ami a pitiful look and then began to remove the smaller branches from the base. Manually.

At least they'd have a ton of firewood by the end of the day.

* * *

Ami and Minako had stepped indoors at the behest of Rei, who expressly forbade them from helping. They remained inside for about forty minutes or so - Ami studying, Minako memorizing lines, and Rei trying to read, while constantly glancing out the window.

"Do you think I was too harsh?" she spoke hesitantly.

Ami looked up from her textbook curiously. "No more than we would have expected."

Minako agreed, "Yeah, remember when you caught Usagi-chan roasting marshmallows on the Great Flame? You chased her with a broom and banned her from the shrine, until she absolutely _had_ to come for meeting like three days later."

The genius added, "And there was that time Minako-chan spilled soda all over your new dress. You chased her with a broom, until she promised to buy you two new ones."

The red ribboned blonde had a whole list, "And then there was that time you chased Yuuichirou-kun with the broom after he-"

"Okay okay, I get it!" interrupted Rei irritably. Her lips resumed a troubled frown, and her eyes shot anxiously out the window again at Makoto chopping up the remains of the scattered tree. "I just feel sort of bad."

Ami and Minako looked at each other, both faces echoing mild surprise. It wasn't unlike Rei to forgive an incident, but seeing her feel remorse so soon? It hadn't even been an hour.

It was a bit strange, but Minako had to chalk it up to the love waves. Her eyes narrowed devilishly, as she realized this. Nonchalantly, she said, "Mako-chan is a big girl. She'll be fine."

Amethyst eyes remained fixed on the brunette. "But it's a pretty good sized tree."

"It _is_ Mako-chan's fault, after all," goaded Minako, "She's the one who made the mess in the first place."

"She didn't mean it though," spoke Rei ruefully, "She was just testing her powers."

The blonde shook her head knowingly. "Testing her powers or not, she deserves to have to clean up the whole, entire, huge, cumbersome tree all by her lonesome. No matter how ridiculously long it takes. As they say, fair is square."

"I guess…it's just…" mumbled Rei with soft eyes.

The room went silent for a moment. Ami remained discreetly poised with interest behind her textbook. The 'Love Goddess' smirked slyly at her raven haired friend, who continued to peer at the toil outside with regret. Without another word, Rei rose from her window seat and left.

"Mina-chan?" questioned Ami, "How did you know that would work?"

Minako released a self satisfied grin. "Oh, it's just that Rei-chan is totally in love with Mako-chan, that's all."

"What?" cried the startled genius, dropping her book with a loud thud. "What on Earth would give you that idea?"

"Not Earth, my friend, Venus," replied the actress with a saucy wink.

Ami let out a deep sigh of exasperation. "Not the love waves thing again. Minako-chan, you're crazy."

"I'm not crazy, I'm the Goddess of Love."

Before the bluenette could protest the idea further, Minako pointed outside. "Hold on Ami-chan. Just look out the window for a second."

Ami and Minako moved in closer to the clear glass window. Beyond it, they saw Makoto swinging an axe into another thick branch. Her chest heaved from the exertion, sweat beading on her brow. She stopped her next swing, when Rei's hand rested upon her shoulder.

The brunette turned and was handed a glass of water. She accepted it gratefully and downed the contents. Ami observed how Makoto blushed, after their fingers grazed when Rei took back the empty glass. Words were exchanged that made the raven haired woman bite her lip and cast her eyes towards the ground nervously. They both stood there awkwardly until Rei said something that made Makoto's eyes light up. The fighter said something to which shrine maiden nodded.

Makoto jumped up and down excitedly, hugged Rei, and swung her around a bit. When she was released, Rei stepped slowly away as if in a daze. The brunette took no notice and rolled up her sleeves.

"So, did you see what I saw?" asked Minako.

"I have no idea what you're taking about," muttered Ami, returning to her textbook.

"Oh come on, it was so obvious!" Minako giggled at the sight of Makoto. She looked downright exuberant after the encounter. Minako had to bet that the dense blockhead didn't realize or have a clue why if she did. Matchmaking was so fun.

"I saw nothing out of the ordinary," contended Ami, staring a hole into her equations.

"Ami-chan! Did you _see_ the way that they looked at each other?"

Ami said nothing. Their behavior did seem a bit…well…but she paid it no mind. Minako was crazy and it couldn't possibly be true.

"See the way 'who' looked at each other?" asked Rei, returning to the room.

"Just celebrity gossip," played off Minako cooly, "I've been getting Ami-chan into the Tokyo Celebrity Insider Scoop lately."

The bluenette coughed. "You have not 'gotten me into' anything of the sort."

"Sure, I caught our dear Ami-chan watching it once without me the other day," teased the gossip queen.

"I told you I was flipping channels!" insisted the doctor to be indignantly, "I was watching a documentary and it went to commercial, thank you very much."

Rei watched with semi amusement at her friends' light bickering. The other half of her attention was diverted out the window, watching Makoto gleefully smash through the tree with her recently permitted electrical powers. At that rate, she'd be done by the evening and could come back inside.

* * *

Ami and Minako waved goodbye to their friends and headed back towards the apartment they shared.

Minako almost tripped down the shrine steps in her excitement. Luckily, she caught herself before plunging towards a lengthy tumble. "Did you see when Mako-chan came in to Rei-chan's room in just a towel?"

The bluenette rolled her eyes, as she was lately becoming accustomed to. "Minako-chan, be careful, there's still some ice there! And she needed to grab her clothes so she could change after her bath. There's nothing strange about that."

The blonde slid across the sidewalk ice with a shocking amount of grace, as she continued. "No, not that! I'm talking about how Rei-chan's eyes almost bounced out of her sockets. She was bright red for like two minutes."

It was Ami's turn to flush a shade of pink. "Rei-chan is more modest than Mako-chan."

Minako grabbed Ami's arm and turned the short bluenette towards her, most likely for dramatic effect. "They've been living together for a while now. Poor Rei-chan has had to watch her parading around in her lack of modesty all this time! Come on, Ami-chan. You at least have to admit that Mako-chan is pretty smokin' hot. "

Ami shook herself from the Minako's grasp and continued ahead. "I do not have to admit anything of the sort," she huffed, "It's starting to sound like you're the one who has a crush on her."

"Me? I just know how to appreciate beauty. I'm the Goddess of that too after all. Besides, I'm not her type. Mako-chan goes for the dark haired, mysterious shinto shrine maiden types."

Ami skidded on her tracks and turned back towards grinning Minako. "Oh no...You think Mako-chan likes Rei-chan too?"

"Yessiree. Though, I don't think that they know it yet. I had my hunch based off an earlier conversation I was spying on, but everything else they do is telling me that they have no idea."

"So far, all you're telling me is, that you're basing this half baked theory off of a few nondescript observations and improbable hunches."

'_That and my secret love wave powers_,' thought Minako gleefully. She had considered blabbing to the first person possible about her new found ability, but she didn't want Rei and Makoto to find out just yet. If she told Usagi, she might as well have told everyone and if she told Ami, the blue haired genius may try to deter her from her love mission. What was the fun in that? For now the Joker would remain up her sleeve.

"I assure you, my dear Ami-chan, that I bake my theories entirely. You'll see. They'll be official by the end of the week."

"Fine. Think what you want, but don't involve me when this all blows up in your face."

Minako took Ami's words as a challenge. Let the flames begin.

* * *

Makoto picked a leaf out of her hair and dropped the sopping wet piece onto the floor next to the tub. She found herself spent beyond belief after the day's labor, thus the soothing warmth of the bath was particularly welcome. It was extra hot, just the way she liked it, especially since they had the firewood to spare this time around.

She laid her head back and wondered how much longer she would have been slaving away at the remains of the fallen tree, if she had continued to do it with manual hand tools. It seemed like forever, but she knew that when Rei swung that broom around, she meant business. Luckily, Rei found it in her heart to go easy on her. The shrine maiden even started helping out around the end, sweeping up the smaller branches alongside her. Makoto knew from past experiences just how temperamental Rei could be, so the extent of such leniency wasn't at all lost on her.

She'd have to do something nice for her friend as a 'thanks for not murdering me with a broom' present. And she then remembered that Rei's birthday was coming up in a few short weeks. There was a movie that Makoto had seen in a store a few months before Christmas that she had considered getting for her friend, but suddenly a video seemed inadequate. It had to be something more special.

Makoto remained in the tub, until the water went lukewarm, musing about the perfect gift for Rei. She was, then, on a mission to find out exactly what that was.

"Cook her a really huge meal!" said Usagi stomach rumbling, when Makoto asked later. "And invite everyone over for the party of course."

"Rei-chan is a very smart young woman," noted Ami, as she suggested, "Perhaps a book on Ancient Religions."

"Two words, Mako-chan," stated Minako matter-of-factly, "Fancy. Jewelry."

Makoto nodded and pretended to take the ideas in serious account. She cooked for Rei all the time, a book didn't seem special enough, and fancy jewelry would break her pocketbook. Though she had to admit, Minako seemed to be on to something for a change. Makoto couldn't possibly pay for really fancy jewelry, but a nice affordable necklace wasn't exactly out of the question.

She'd just have to start saving up. It would be a pretty decent gift for someone who welcomed a stray like Makoto into her home. Someone who brightened her day without even trying. Someone who was wonderful and caring, and so very special.

The more the brunette thought of it, the more the matter seemed settled. Frugality thy name is Kino Makoto.

* * *

Rei woke up drenched in sweat, gasping for breath. Her heart was hammering inside her ribcage, still in the fervent grasp of a heinous nightmare. The dreamworld began to fade, slowly being consumed by reality, as she regained dim awareness of her surroundings.

"Rei-chan, are you okay?"

She turned to see Makoto kneeling concernedly from the side of her bed. The night was dark, but the ambient light creeping through the window provided enough light to expose the fighter's form. Rei found herself awestruck by how brilliantly those worried emerald eyes could still shine against the shadows.

Her name came out in a hesitant whisper. "Mako-chan?"

"I think you were having a nightmare," came the simple reply.

Rei sat up in her bed as she tried to replay the events of the dream in her mind.

"I was being chased by a youma. You were there and…" she trailed off and quickly shut her eyes.

A tear escaped from the corner of Rei's eye. Makoto reached out, wiping it off Rei's cheek before casting a consoling arm around her. "It's alright. It's not real. There's no youma."

Rei felt herself melt into the touch. She tried to concentrate on the warmth, instead of the adrenaline that was still coursing through her body and mind. In the dream, she had been running for her life, trying to throw whatever she could in the path of a dangerous demon, but nothing was deterring its speed. As it came down to strike her, Makoto appeared in the distance. Its focus turned and it charged at the waiting soldier.

"You distracted it, and it came rushing towards you," whispered Rei against Makoto's shoulder.

"Did I kick its ass?" joked the brunette, in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn't seem to work though.

"I don't know," replied Rei, voice cracking slightly. "All I can remember was calling out to you." She clutched her friend tightly and started to tear up.

A reassuring squeeze was given. "It was just a dream, albeit a really realistic one."

"Mako-chan, I can't lose you," Rei whispered the words so softly that it almost broke the fighter's heart.

Makoto's eyes glimmered, as she brushed a stray lock from Rei's face. The brunette planted a small kiss on her left cheek and whispered in her ear. "You'll never lose me. I promise."

The softness of the air hitting her ear and the light touch of Makoto's lips on her bare skin made Rei shiver. And just as the dull thudding in her chest threatened to overtake her senses, the feeling of the warmth was removed. Makoto had shifted away and was about to return to her kneeling spot beside the bed.

"Wait," Rei found herself saying quickly. Makoto turned her gaze upwards and met a pair of beckoning amethyst eyes. To her immediate shock, they were more beautiful now than she had ever imagined.

"Will you stay?"

Makoto's breath and words caught in her lungs. She forgot how to speak.

"Please?"

Makoto swallowed and shifted awkwardly back onto the bed. Rei laid back down and turned away, incredibly embarrassed. She continued, trying to rectify the situation with the explanation she didn't actually have. "I'm sorry, Mako-chan. I'm still…I mean...It's just that, right now I...I just don't…"

"Want to be alone," finished the brunette in a daze. She pulled the covers over both of them and stared at the ceiling, unblinkingly.

Rei inhaled a deep breath and tried not to say anything else. She knew that she had probably put Makoto in an awkward position and regretted it. But she couldn't stop the words from pouring out of her mouth. It was just for one night. After the dream, she felt better knowing that Makoto was nearby. In her head, she knew it was absolutely ridiculous, but she couldn't deny that her heart felt more at ease. The proximity was astoundingly comforting, just as it was when she had woken up next to the brunette the previous morning.

Makoto, on the other hand, was far from relaxed. Her own recollection of the morning was not one of comfort. Instead, her memory spoke only of her own stupidity. She had fallen asleep entirely by accident and had somehow in the night mistaken her friend's body as a pillow. In her sleep, she had placed them both in an incredibly inappropriate and intimate position, which thank goodness Rei hadn't been awake to notice.

She praised her lucky stars that she woke up first. She had a chance to remove herself from the situation before being found out. It felt awkward enough having to apologize to Rei for still being in the bed in the first place. She couldn't possibly let her tempestuous companion find out that she had been holding her all night. That would have been bad. Really bad. Rei was known to have personal space issues - which Makoto was trying her best to respect.

Yet in that moment, much to Makoto's immense surprise, Rei was _asking_ for closer contact.

The brunette had a tendency to change positions in her sleep. She knew she did, and it was never really a problem since she always slept alone. But tonight, Makoto was anxious that her constant shifting would lead to another 'accidentally spooning her friend' incident.

And what made it even worse, she wanted to reach out and hold Rei on purpose.

Makoto laid there, body rigid, eyes glued to the ceiling, trying to snuff out these new, niggling compulsions. It was harder than she liked. It would have been a lot easier suppress them, if the woman lying next to her didn't smell so fucking good. Or if that feather soft hair didn't tickle her arm the way it did. And the light feeling of Rei's exposed back brushing up against her side was distressingly intoxicating. The wash of sensation was incredibly distracting and was making her feel things that she shouldn't.

She had been starting to have her suspicions about these past weeks. Her heart hammering in her chest so often would have been indication enough, if it had been around anyone else. Makoto had been infatuated often enough to recognize stomach butterflies, but this wasn't her typical fare. It couldn't possibly be. This was her friend. One of her best.

The fighter clenched her eyes shut and tried not to think about the corner of Rei's mouth curving into a smile right before she laughed. She tried not the think about the intensity of her amethyst gaze. Or the way she twirled those long raven locks between her slender fingers. Or how utterly incredible she looked next to the glow of the flame that night Makoto had stepped into her world.

She tried, with every torn up scrap of willpower she had, not to think about those things. But sleep was a long time coming for Kino Makoto that night.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Betrayal

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Ten - The Betrayal

_How could you have done this? Not just to me. But to them? _

continue.

* * *

Rei woke up wrapped in Makoto's arms once again. She shot a a quick glance at the clock across the room. According to typical routine, they should have been up almost an hour ago. It was rare that she didn't rise to catch the beginnings of the fighter's martial arts workout. Usually, Makoto would be kicking a dummy right about now, but instead was sleeping quite soundly. They had both apparently neglected to set alarms.

The shrine maiden sighed and tried not to shift too much, as she settled back into the warm embrace. They hadn't fallen asleep that way, she knew for a fact. Makoto laid on her back, stiff as a board, while Rei laid on her side with her back turned. The restless brunette's tendency to move around in her sleep had entwined them once more. And Rei found that she didn't mind in the slightest.

She had stirred around four in the morning, finding herself strangely content to be nestled snugly in the fighter's arms. She tried to will herself to stay awake and soak in the detail of the touch, but was taken away by slumber once more.

There was no use in denying any longer that she liked it. She allowed her foolish heart the brief and silly wish that they could lay together like this every night, but her more pragmatic sense of reasoning insisted that she wouldn't get another opportunity. Even if she had the same nightmare again, it was unlikely that she could get away with another night under the same sheets. Friends just didn't do that. And that's all they were. Friends.

The more she tried not to think about the Makoto, the more her visage invaded her mind. The soft kiss against her forehead that morning, the brush of warmth against her cheek that night - how could such small action produce such a remarkable sensation? Perhaps her memory was playing a cruel joke on her, and it wasn't as big of a deal as she trying to make it out to be. Yet, the moments resonated. And she found herself wondering more and more what those lips would feel like against her own.

But friends just didn't do that.

A friend wasn't supposed to idly wonder how soft the skin on her neck was. Or have to stop a curious hand from reaching to find out. Or spend too much time marveling at the captivating grace and power she displayed during her morning exercise. Or fixate on the way those same powerful arms could cradle one so gently, so flawlessly against her toned frame. They were friends, and Rei should just count herself lucky to have gotten to be that close in the first place.

The night before, Rei had been forced to acknowledge her growing attraction. She had been nervous around Makoto the whole day and had been dreaming about her that night. It had been a pleasant dream, until a youma turned it into a nightmare. When she felt the fighter touch her so sweetly afterwards, she finally realized what it was that had been bothering her over the past couple of days. Or was it weeks? It was hard to tell how long it had been that she had been ignoring her feelings.

Those feelings were now known. There was no mistaking it. She had a huge crush on one of her best friends. All at once, she found Makoto equally stunning and terrifying. Rei had never expected this sort of attraction to develop, and honestly, it scared the hell out of her.

What would Makoto think if she ever found out? The last thing that Rei wanted was to lose her. It had been made that clear the night before. Their friendship was far too important to risk on a silly crush.

It hurt to think about. So, Rei shoved the matters aside for the time being, trying to focus on the subtle rise and fall of breathing against her back, for as long as she could. Sooner than she liked, Makoto stirred and immediately broke the contact. There wasn't a kiss this time. The brunette seemed to bolt from the room as quickly as possible.

And it gave the inside of Rei's chest the strangest of dull aches.

* * *

Over the course of the next two weeks, it seemed like Makoto was working every hour she possibly could. True to the tenants of the buddy system, she took Rei to hang with Minako, Usagi, or Ami - whoever was available at the time, before fleeing to the restaurant.

Rei tried not to let on, but she had a feeling that Makoto was weirded out and wanted to spend as little time together as possible. The line cook worked overtime every shift she could squeeze in. And when she wasn't working, she was exhausted and went straight to sleep.

"She's just working too hard lately, that's all," reassured Minako confidently. In truth, the red ribboned blonde found herself with no explanation as to why Makoto suddenly decided to work so much. What she _did_ know, however, was that it was causing an irritating hitch in 'Operation Love Waves Go!' How the heck was she supposed to plant the seeds of love with Makoto rushing off to her job every minute?

Ami had noticed a downturn in Rei's mood as well, though she emphatically refused to relate it to a supposed crush on Makoto. Usagi, who had no idea about Minako's love theory, tried to brighten the despondent shrine maiden's spirits with ice cream, trivial stories, and well placed smiles. Rei smiled mechanically and refused to admit that there was anything wrong.

It kept Rei up at night though. She played their conversations over in her mind. Makoto seemed civil whenever when they talked. But it was just that. Civil. Normal. Everyday. Like they were two acquaintances sitting at a bus stop making idle chatter. The words were all fine, but the brunette seemed to go out of the way to avoid her direct gaze. It bothered her. A lot.

Weary and restless over the issue, Rei got of bed late one night and went outside for some fresh air. The nights were still on the colder side, but the remaining snow was yielding to Springtime. Perhaps soon, they'd get one of those April rains that Makoto had been pining for.

As she walked further along the shrine grounds, she felt a presence. A sense of danger cut through her being. She turned. A shrouded figure stood amongst the shadows of the trees. She inhaled a slow, languid breath. A short distance away, the figure remained, hauntingly still. Then, she saw it. A pair of blue, glowing eyes.

Youma.

She clutched her henshin and whispered the incantation. The wand burned in her hand, sparking its disapproval. She dropped it immediately and stared at the demon waiting amongst the trees. Her heart rate quickened, but the defunct pen came as little surprise.

They both stood, facing off, neither making the first move. Rei's stomach turned, as her disordered mind flailed desperately towards some sort of plan. She might have run or called out for help, but found herself glued to the spot, silent and immobile.

In the blink of an eye, the youma was upon her. How quickly its movements shattered their mute eternities. In her breathless moments of hesitation, it got close enough to strike her. She flew into the ground harshly, face scraping against its hard grit, streaking blood across stone. Her hand reached up quickly to wipe the gravel away from her eyelids. When her eyes were able to focus against the dust, she saw the hulking beast ready to bear its wrath down upon her. Her whole body tensed in preparation for an impact. But none came. She blinked.

Makoto stood tall, jaw clenched, as she gripped the demon's arm, electricity coursing through her own. She threw her full weight against the gargantuan beast, forcing it back a few steps. Eyes smoldering with rage, she propelled an electric-laced fist into the youma's midsection. It stumbled backward again and again, each time regaining its footing and proceeding forward.

The fighter charged a larger disc of energy and sent it crashing against the heavyweight's ankle, causing it to finally tumble over.

Then, the skies tore open, and it began to pour rain. The demon grunted, as it stumbled to its feet, angered and ready to retaliate in full force. It paid no mind to the sudden deluge soaking into its fur. It only knew that it had the target in within its reach.

The green eyed warrior let out an impassioned scream, and the rainclouds released a devastating eruption of lightning upon the unsuspecting youma. It pulsed and bellowed in agony, electric fury coursing violently through its every nerve and pore. The flood of pain would have never ceased, if it was up to the thunderous fighter. But her infinite revenge was cut short by the fiend's inevitable eruption into dust.

While the raindrops washed through the sandy remains of her foe, Makoto fell to her knees, instantly spent from the unintended explosion of magical exertion. She took in desperate breaths of the chilled, humid air. The cold touch of rainwater blurred her vision. She could hear Rei rushing towards her, calling her name. But soon, the words became muffled. Rei's hand grasping her shoulder was the last thing she could comprehend before her world gave way into inky blackness.

* * *

Makoto found herself in Rei's bed once more, but this time she couldn't recall for the life of her how she had gotten there. Her muscles ached in protest as she tried to shift herself upwards. What time was it? Why did she feel as if she had been hit by a truck? Where was Rei?

She threw a wayward glance toward the clock on the wall. It was nearing one in the afternoon. Strange. She never slept this late.

She tried to piece together the events of the night before. She had come home from the restaurant late that evening and then went straight to her own bed on the floor. It had been a long, tiring day. That was all she had remembered really, which didn't help to explain anything.

Slipping away from the sheets, she attempted to get on her feet. An instant dizziness overcame her normal balance and she was forced to sit back down. Her head was reeling.

"What the hell is going on," she mumbled, stepping out again, more carefully. She slowly stumbled into the hallway and met a concerned pair of amethyst eyes.

"Mako-chan! You shouldn't be up right now!"

She barely had time to blink, before she found herself being ushered back into the room. She sat back down on the bed confusedly.

"Why the hell not?" she managed to blurt out.

"Because you're still recovering." Rei's hand brushed away her bangs and rested firmly on her forehead.

"What are you talking about?"

Rei paused and stared briefly. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" asked Makoto.

Rei removed her hand from her friend's forehead hesitantly. "There was a youma attack last night. You came and saved me. Are you really telling me that you don't remember that?"

Makoto's face scrunched in immense concentration, as she tried to recall prior events. She struggled for a moment, but soon the realization washed over her like opening floodgates. "You mean that wasn't a dream?"

Rei shook her head. "You threw way more power at it than was really necessary and passed out. I had to drag you inside. And you had a fever, but it seems like it's gone. Thank goodness."

"That means…" started Makoto, smothering a gasp, "That means you can't henshin anymore, can you?"

The shrine maiden pointed towards the fried wand on her desk. "I froze up and the youma got a good hit in before I could come up with a plan."

The fighter shivered with rage at the thought of some slobbering beast hitting Rei. A tepid spark jumped off her clenched fist. "That son of a…"

Rei placed her index finger against Makoto's mouth, effectively silencing the angered brunette. "Stop it. It's gone. You killed it and then nearly killed yourself in the process."

"I'm fine," lied Makoto, turning away and trying to ignore her throbbing temple.

"No, Ami-chan thinks that you overdid your magic way before your body was ready to handle it. And Luna is furious. She and Artemis want to have a talk with you today. All three of them will be here around two."

The worn down woman groaned and flopped back onto the mattress. "I can't. As much as I'd love to listen to them bitching at me for an hour, I've got to go to work soon. I'll be back as soon as the restaurant closes."

"No you don't," reprimanded Rei, "You're calling in sick. You're not going anywhere today."

"What? I can't afford to call in sick right now! I can't stay here all day, I have to go." The brunette shot up, immediately regretting moving too quickly.

The firebrand gave a withering glare. "I'm sorry you have to miss your precious work, but today you're going to have to suffer being here for more than five minutes. You can barely stand up straight."

"I said, 'I'm fine,'" insisted Makoto, in spite of herself, "And what do you mean suffer being here?"

"Never mind!" Rei rose, ready to leave the room in a huff, but the fighter caught her by the wrist. A familiar tingle went up her arm. She tried to ignore it and shake the grip off, but Makoto kept a firm hold.

"Rei-chan, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you're always ready to rush off to work and stay there as long as you possibly can!" she shouted suddenly, "About how you haven't said anything of consequence to me in over a week. I'm talking about how you can barely stand the sight of me!"

The beaten brunette was taken aback by her friend's sudden eruption. Rei broke free in the confusion and stormed out of the room.

Makoto wanted to go after her, but she had to admit that her body wasn't up to the task of moving too quickly. She knew that Rei was right, and that she shouldn't push herself too hard. But it was also really important that she went to work that day. She needed to pick up her check so she could buy her tempestuous friend's birthday gift. She had been working hard to afford it and couldn't bear to screw it up at the last minute.

Ami would be over to take care of Rei. So, she decided to just tough it out. If she just actively ignored her headache, the day would surely fly by just fine. It would be kind of like working around a hangover. A head splitting, dizzying, exhausting, magically induced hangover.

Makoto groaned and hoped Rei wouldn't be completely unforgiving.

* * *

The overworked line cook breathed a deep sigh of relief, as she stepped out into the cool night air. At long last, it was finished. Tomorrow was her first day off - the completion of her lengthy stretch of overtime shifts. With the end, came a sense of satisfaction. She met her monetary goal and put it to good use. Pleased, the fighter's fingers idly brushed along the edge of the box inside her coat pocket.

It was a long afternoon of nursing a magical migraine, but the contents of the tiny case made everything worth it.

She strolled serenely down the street, looking forward to getting back to the shrine. Makoto was so happy to be heading home, that she didn't really even care that Rei was going to let her have it, as soon as she arrived. The firebrand looked kind of cute when she was mad anyway. And the yelling wouldn't last forever. Hopefully.

A very loud, very deliberate meowing sound coming from the alley interrupted Makoto's thoughts. She paused in her tracks and caught sight of two disgruntled looking felines glaring at her.

Rei's voice echoed through her memory, _"Luna is furious. She and Artemis want to have a talk with you today. All three of them will be here around two." _

"Look you two, I'm sorry I couldn't stick around the shrine for you today," apologized Makoto, "I had to go to work."

The felines' eyes darted around the street. There were a handful of people milling about. They didn't respond. Makoto scooped them up. "Come on, I know a place that's probably deserted right now. Then, you can let me have it."

Luna and Artemis laid irritably on Makoto's shoulders, as she headed for the park. It was late and on the colder side, so no one was around when they arrived. She set the cats down and waited expectantly.

"You acted irresponsibly," started Luna simply. "You nearly got yourself killed and continued to ignore your need for recovery by going to work. And by doing so, ignored our instructions to wait for us, so that we could speak to you."

Makoto sighed. She wasn't sure how long their lecture was going to last, so she sat down on a bench to prepare for the onslaught. "I'm sorry for ditching our meeting."

Artemis shook his head. "This isn't just about our meeting, Makoto-chan."

"Yes, we need to discuss the consequences of your actions last night," reprimanded Luna.

The brunette ran a hand through her hair and chuckled. "Trust me, I felt the consequences hammering away at my skull half the day."

"It's bigger than that," spoke Artemis gravely, "You interrupted a very important battle for Rei-chan."

Makoto's self deprecating smile faded. She was expecting bitching, but not accusation. "Interrupted? No, I _saved_ her. As in, she was being attacked a youma, so I killed it."

"_Rei-chan_ was supposed to do it," emphasized Luna. "It was her fight."

The fighter stared blankly at the felines. "Why the hell does it matter who killed it? It's dead. It's more important that Rei-chan wasn't hurt."

Artemis shook his head, "No, this time, it's more important that she fights her own battle."

"She doesn't have any powers right now!" Makoto reminded them, slightly stunned.

"And neither did you when you were forced to fight!" countered Artemis seriously.

Makoto gaped at them. "You…The two of you." Sick realization swept over her features. They knew? And they did nothing to stop any of it? "What have you been…Why? What the hell is going on? Tell me what you know!"

"We're trying," said Artemis softly, "Now listen."

She stopped in spite of herself, allowing the black guardian cat to continue, "Those battles were no accidents. The five of you have already figured that out. But what we didn't tell you is that Artemis and I sent those youma. With the help of Sailor Pluto, we released them after you at times when your henshin was close to expiration. It was a test."

"A test?" echoed Makoto. Her head was swimming with disbelief.

The snow colored feline gave a solemn nod. "The transformation magic was running dry. You and Jupiter could not any longer remain two separate entities. You needed to merge. But first, Jupiter needed to choose you."

"Lightning is Jupiter's birthright, not Kino Makoto's," revealed Luna, "But Kino Makoto has proven that she can stand alone and fight the forces of evil with all her might. So in winning your battle, you've won Jupiter's gifts. They and you will become stronger than ever, as time goes on. And each new Senshi's gifts will help pave the way towards our new kingdom."

"New kingdom?" sputtered Makoto. Was that it was all about? She was almost killed because of it? _Rei_ was almost killed because of it? "Are you fucking kidding me? Any one of us could have died!"

"But you didn't," stated Artemis, "Each of you triumphed and have earned your abilities. Except for Rei."

"You sent a youma to attack her without warning. You _lied_ to us."

"We did what we _had to_ for the preservation of Good's future reign," insisted Luna, "We don't give you any warning, that's the test."

Makoto choked out furiously, "Our lives aren't a game to be played around with!"

"No one is playing games," the black feline shot back, "You don't get time to prepare. Jupiter didn't break out of that wand to watch you lay traps. She needed you to do it on your own."

The devastated warrior glared at her former guardians with mistrust. They met her stare without regret. They knew the consequences of their actions and followed through.

"And what if I didn't? Didn't beat the youma, I mean."

Luna looked away, pain finally showing through. "Then, you'd die." She slumped slightly and added, "And we'd have to begin right away searching for a new Jupiter."

"Well, thank goodness I lived, so that I didn't have to inconvenience you with my unworthy corpse!" spat Makoto angrily.

"Makoto-chan, please," cut Artemis sharply.

"We don't want any of you to die," spoke Luna sincerely, "And so far, none of you have."

"But what about Rei-chan? She didn't pass your test." The word 'test' felt so wrong in her mouth. It was disgusting. A test? It wasn't a test, it was a deathtrap.

"She hasn't failed yet," said Artemis, "That youma may be dead, but another will take its place until she either defeats it or dies trying."

"And now let me guess…" Makoto rose and started pacing, trying to imagine what they wanted from her at this point, "You want me to stand around, twiddle my thumbs, and hope she doesn't get killed?"

Luna stated without difficulty, "No, we want you to step back and believe that she can win."

"We did," added Artemis solemnly.

"Step back, huh?" laughed the brunette bitterly, "Like how you stepped back when Sailor Pluto knocked out Minako-chan in an alley? Tell me, was all this her idea?"

The white feline flinched at the sound of his charge's name. "We didn't do any of this because we wanted to!" he asserted frustratedly, "You think I _liked_ doing this to Minako? Do you think Setsuna-san _wanted_ to hurt her?"

"Artemis." Luna cut him off. She had already tried to warn him earlier that it would do them no good to get hysterical.

He sobered quickly, trying to recapture his rehearsed calm. "It wasn't just someone's idea, Makoto-chan…"

Makoto slumped back down onto the bench. She tried to regain her bearings, but it was all still too overwhelming. Ami, Minako, Rei… But what about...

"And when the time comes for Usagi-chan?" she asked very seriously, "Are the four of us going to have step back? Because I absolutely refuse to stand idly by while my Princess is in harm's way!"

"And that's the way it should be," agreed Luna, "Usagi-chan is different."

"Sailor Moon never existed in the Silver Millennium," explained Artemis, "She was created by the call of the Ginzoushou and will vanish during Usagi's ascension into Serenity."

Luna laid an earnest paw on Makoto's thigh. "We're not asking you to let anyone die. We're begging you to let Rei-chan transcend."

Makoto looked down and met her former mentor's gaze with heartbreak, "Even if it means her life?"

"She won't lose," whispered Luna.

"How do you know?"

"Because she has to!"

"You can't stop this," stated Artemis harshly, "No matter how many youma you or any of the other Senshi kill, the cycle won't stop until Rei-chan stops it. Mars will never accept anything less, and we cannot go on with her."

"This is all too much." Makoto put her head in her hands, sick with confusion. It was hard to choose a feeling, as so many were battling for dominance within her mind and heart. Rage at the betrayal of her once trusted mentors. Unmitigated apprehension for the raven haired warrior, ignorant of what was to come. Relief about the safety of her cherished Princess. Duty, sorrow, understanding, disbelief, faith, fear…How was it that an abundance of emotion could make one feel so hollow?

"We didn't want to tell you like this," admitted Artemis.

Steely green eyes hardened. "When is the next youma coming?"

"Very soon," revealed Luna, "We're asking you to go back to your apartment for the night."

Makoto's heart sank. She removed the tiny box from her pocket and stared at it for a moment. She put it back inside her coat and whispered defeatedly, "Fine."

The fighter stormed off. Later. She could no longer speak. She could no longer listen. They'd deal with it later when she found her words again.

The solemn guardians looked on at the fleeting form in the distance, silently praying that their headstrong ward would stay far from the only place she wanted to be.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Showdown

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Eleven - The Showdown

_It ends tonight. _

continue.

* * *

Rei's attention darted from the drone of the television back towards the window. She had been waiting for hours for Makoto to come back, so that she could slap that idiot with a very large and heavy piece of her mind. But Makoto never came home. Rei's emotions drifted slowly from fury to fear. It was late, and the restaurant was definitely closed by now. Where was she? What if something happened?

All the arguments that Rei had been planning in her mind were replacing themselves with grisly scenarios and possibilities. What if Makoto had been involved in an accident was in the hospital right now? What if she was kidnapped by some mystery Senshi and taken to a warehouse to be killed? Or was zapped into an evil dimension?

It was possible. That was Rei's life after all. These things happened to them. Her friends _did_ end up in hospitals and were kidnapped and were zapped into evil dimensions!

Another glance out the window, and there was nothing. The shrine maiden calmed and chastised herself once more for being irrational. Makoto had only been gone for a few hours. It was only one in the morning. Sure, she said she'd be home as soon as the restaurant closed. So what if it closed at eleven? So what if she wasn't answering her phone? So what if she could be floating around in a parallel universe?

Rei needed to meditate. It was obvious that she wouldn't be able to sleep. She fled from her worries into the Fire Room and knelt in front of the Sacred Flame. Closing her eyes, she breathed deep the scent of burning wood and ash. Her anxieties began to release with each passing breath. A familiar calm encompassed her mind and body.

But it didn't last. She was jolted awake. An energy emanating from the flame forced her backward. She clenched her jaw, and from behind closed eyelids, she saw herself facing off with a youma. The same horrifying visage burned in the flame before her, when she opened her eyes.

"It's here," Rei whispered apprehensively to the fire, "It's here for me, isn't it? That's what you're trying to tell me?"

The image faded from the flame. It only crackled in response.

"Can't you give me a straighter answer?" she pleaded.

The blaze roared, showing the demon once more, this time chasing Makoto. It struck her down.

"The dream. I saw that in a dream the other night!"

The view remained still on Makoto's unmoving body.

"No, I can't let that happen. I won't."

She leapt to her feet and the smoldering impressions dissipated.

No more running.

* * *

Makoto had been heading in the direction of her apartment, trying and failing to let the insane information soak in. Conflicting feelings of betrayal and duty gnawed at her insides. It seemed like she would never be able to sort it out.

Luna and Artemis lied to them all. They tried to kill them. She shivered, as she recalled the adrenaline soaked terror that drove her into Tokyo Bay that fateful night. It was supposed to be a test? What kind of nightmarish test leads to getting electrocuted with ten thousand volts and hypothermia?

Somehow she passed. Somehow she survived the aftershocks. She realized that Jupiter must have saved her. It couldn't have been mere luck that kept her alive, when she was as good as dead. She really had been chosen. For what, she wasn't entirely sure yet.

Makoto and Jupiter. They were the same. It felt right. She felt whole.

But it was all still tainted with the stench of deception.

To harness electricity as Kino Makoto…that was something amazing. If given proper warning, she would probably have risked her life willingly for such an opportunity. The problem was, she wasn't given the choice. The absence of choice bothered her. A lot.

They weren't allowed to prepare for the fight. Somehow the lack of warning would make it more real. But what could be unreal about trying not to die?

Makoto tried hard to wrap her head around their heartless logic. So what if she was to know beforehand? If 'no planning' was the rule, she would have gladly followed it. She would have still fought as hard as she needed to in order to earn her rights as Jupiter. And at least she would know _why_ she was having to fight for her life.

In the end, it was for Usagi though. She couldn't dispute Luna and Artemis's sense of duty, though she did question their methods. Sailor Moon was the most important person in the galaxy without a doubt. And Makoto would lay down her life in a heartbeat for her beloved moon princess. She had, and she would again and again without hesitation.

She lost the stone she had been kicking down the street. A quick look at her surroundings told her that she had turned herself around. Somewhere along the lines, she had passed her apartment completely. How long she had been wandering around the city?

She checked her watch. It had been about two hours, since she had spoken with the guardian felines. Her fingers were numb from the chill. She looked up at the street sign and tried to retrace her steps. Rei's fight was probably over by now. Perhaps she won and was already in bed? Or perhaps she was a bloody corpse? The uncertainty made her stomach turn.

Makoto was closer to the shrine than her apartment at that point. She kept walking, trying to not let the thought of Rei's battered body consume her mind. She ascended the lengthy stairway to find nothing. No signs of struggle on the shrine grounds. Everything was as peaceful as she had left it. The fight must not have started.

Her first impulse was to leave. She wasn't supposed to be here. She began to walk in the other direction, but was distracted by a ferocious roar directly behind her. Before she had time to turn, a youma knocked her down with a powerful blow to the head.

The stone ground provided a rough landing. Her head reeled from the impact. She tried to stumble to her feet and regain her bearings, but was picked up and thrown into a tree. Another cheap shot sent her shoulder slamming into the hardened bark.

Her fingers tightened against her palm, prepared to return the painful favor back to the youma. However, her drained energies were unable to produce any more than a feeble trickle of sparks. She thrust a futile punch into the hulking beast's stomach and hissed in pain, as her fist snapped back against its hardened exterior. It swatted her effortlessly into the air.

Before she hit the ground again, a strangely familiar noise whizzed past her ear. She landed on her back, disregarding the pain shooting up her spine, and looked up. An arrow shot by. The beast cried out.

Rei stood tall upon the shrine roof, and with the utmost concentration, continued rapid firing arrow after arrow into their demonic foe. The monster bellowed in anger, as each additional spike pierced into its flesh. To Makoto's surprise, plumes of dark energy accompanied the flowing of black blood with every new wound. She looked harder and saw that each projectile bared an ofuda upon their pointed heads.

The arrows were blessed. Each talisman tipped instrument a testament to the Good on the archer's side. Though the fire of Mars was lost, the Sacred Flame of Hino Rei's ancestors would burn inside her heart even after her last breath.

The demon tried to move forward, but each step was interrupted by another virulent flesh wound. Original target forgotten, it continued its arduous trek to the source of the assault. Before long, its shell was riddled with broken shafts and deep grazes, every hit hemorrhaging and in pain. Shot after shot followed step after step. Even through such torture, it refused to back down. And neither did Rei.

Hesitation had no place here. The raven haired warrior leapt down from the roof, bounding towards the enemy without fear. A closer target meant more direct hits. And she needed every remaining shot to count.

Time passed in slow and desperate heartbeats for Makoto, as she tried to will past her injuries and back onto her feet. The distance between foes diminished in agonizing eternities before her eyes, yet she knew she still couldn't move fast enough to get between them.

Reaching back into her quiver, Rei found herself with one last chance. The final arrow would determine who walked away the victor. She knew she had to end it. Her aim would have to be true, if she was going to risk it all.

She stopped in her tracks, inviting the onslaught into her midst with a determined glare. The bloodied monster let out a hideous shriek and began gracelessly careening towards her with all that remained of its speed and power.

Makoto's stumbled forward and cried out, horrified at what she mistook as another frozen moment of vulnerability.

But in truth, it wasn't about panic. It was about timing.

Right as the youma descended upon her, the archer pointed her reckoning straight at its head and released. The last ofuda plunged violently between incensed crimson eyes, and a heinous burst of darkened energy plunged out of the back of its skull. The beast landed on top of her, knocking her to the ground and clipping the sides of her robes with its claws before exploding into dust.

Rei breathed in labored gasps, eyes wide, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her heart slammed in her ribcage, crying out endlessly that she was alive, as she laid there covered in the dusty remains of her enemy. That was it. It was done.

She would have been content to lay there for a long time, but her stunned reverie was interrupted by a desperate embrace.

"You did it, Rei," cried Makoto, urgently clutching the shrine maiden's frame against her own.

The stunned victor released an uneasy breath, watching the vapor escape into the cool night air. She slowly wrapped her arms around the brunette. "I did it for you."

She could feel the fighter tense and shift to face her. Curious emeralds peered at her questioningly. The firebrand flushed a light pink at the proximity. The pounding in her heart assumed an odd rhythm, and her chest felt suddenly too tight. "Makoto…I-"

"Rei-chan!" called a distant voice. Makoto's head whipped toward the source of the noise. Rei made no move, still slightly dazed.

"Usagi-chan?" Rei heard the brunette say.

"Are you alright, Rei-chan?" The shrine maiden blinked, and suddenly found herself being embraced by an odangoed blonde. Makoto stood a few steps away. When did she move? When did Usagi get here? Time passed in a confusing blur.

Ami began inspecting her body for any wounds. Minako knelt close by, remaining true to her previous resolution to not bear hug the possibly injured. "What are you all doing here?" sputtered Rei.

"Luna and Artemis told us that you had been attacked by a youma!" exclaimed Usagi.

As the bluenette helped her to her feet, Rei managed to ask, "How did they know that?"

"Yes, how ever did they know," muttered Makoto under her breath.

The guardian cats approached with caution, paying particular attention to a pair of glaring green eyes.

"They wouldn't say," replied Minako. She glanced toward Makoto, who was skulking derisively in the background, and then back at the guilty looking felines. "You two said you had something to tell us when we got here."

"Yes," nodded Artemis somberly, "We have a lot to discuss with the five of you."

"Before we begin, I have to say how relieved we are to see that you're alright, Rei-chan," said Luna.

The statement drew an agitated scoff from the fighter. The four women looked at their friend in confusion, but she just nodded her head back towards the felines.

"Let's go inside, please," suggested Artemis, ignoring the vexed woman's reproach, "You'll want to sit down."

The group moved silently indoors. The moment everyone took their seats, Makoto sprang up impulsively and proclaimed, "I'm going to make some tea."

The bewildered team watched her storm out of the room. The cats merely sighed. No one stopped her.

"Should we wait for Mako-chan?" questioned Usagi awkwardly.

"I don't think that'll be necessary," said Rei, glaring at their guardians suspiciously, "It seems that she's heard enough from you two already."

Minako leaned forward, eyebrow raised. "Which begs the question…What the hell did you say to her?"

* * *

The tea kettle shrieked its completion far sooner than Makoto would have liked. She didn't want to go back in there just yet. Her blood was still boiling, and she didn't really want to listen to their painful justifications again.

"You _what_?" she heard yelled from down the hall. Judging from the volume, she supposed it was Rei.

Makoto sighed and poured five cups of tea. She waited to hear more yelling, but the hushing sounds of Ami effectively quelled the burst of rage.

She remained, peering down at the steeping tea leaves, idly wondering what they would have to say on the matter if she had even an inkling of fortunetelling skills.

It had been eerily quiet, when the brunette finally resolved to return to her friends with the tray. Minako sat with her head buried in her hands. Rei paced back and forth like a caged lion. Ami stared at the ground, effectively avoiding eye contact with anyone. Usagi just looked on with a catatonic expression of horror.

"We did what had to," insisted Luna.

"We're sorry for the pain it caused you," whispered Artemis. Makoto grit her teeth. She could hear the remorse in his voice now that he had to admit everything to Minako. She hoped the little bastard felt like shit.

"Artemis, I…you. I-" Minako tried to form words, but the betrayal was overwhelming her. She put her head back in her hands.

Makoto set the tray down on the table with a loud clack. "I think you two should leave."

"Perhaps you're right," agreed Luna sadly, "You all need some time to digest this information."

"We'll be around when you feel like speaking more," said Artemis, "But before we go…"

The two felines executed a backwards flip in the air. Strands of shimmering light cascaded in their wake. As they landed, five wrist watches communicators and one tiny computer materialized on the floor. The two felines looked at their charges meaningfully and left without another word.

Rei exploded in a fury, as soon as the so-called guardians were out of sight. "I can't believe they did that to us!"

"They did what they felt was right for all of us," rationalized Ami.

"No, they did it for their Kingdom!" argued Rei with disgust.

"It was so that we could become stronger…" whispered Minako, trying hard to believe it.

"At the cost of our lives? They tried to fucking kill us!"

"Rei-chan, stop it!" shouted Usagi, in an unexpected outburst. Rei effectively clammed up, taken aback by the reprimand. "It was a test, remember? One that they knew that we could pass. They believed that you all could win and you did!"

The room was plunged into another silence for several beats.

"They didn't know that we could win," broke Makoto quietly.

"What makes you say that?" asked Minako, dreading the answer.

"They told me this first because they wanted me to stay away from Rei-chan while she fought," revealed the fighter painfully, "If she died, they said we'd have to find a new Sailor Mars."

"I fucking knew it," breathed Rei, engulfed in both fury and sadness.

"I've had a couple hours to process this," continued Makoto. "And I think I'm starting to understand where they're coming from."

"You're on their side?" questioned Rei reprovingly, "You came out of your fight the worst out of all of us and you're forgiving them?"

"I'm not forgiving them," argued Makoto. "I don't think I can. Not yet. I don't know if I ever can completely. But it's just that…" She held up her hand. A tiny ball of electricity crackled weakly in a contained field. "I know that they're right." The ball of electricity dissipated. "I'm getting better at this everyday. I can feel Jupiter. She's getting stronger too. And if this is what it takes to protect Usagi-chan…Then, I would tear down the sky to have it. I'd risk everything for the chance. Wouldn't you?"

Rei closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on bringing out fire. An almost untraceable plume of smoke whispered off her palm. She wasn't ready yet.

"I'd do it for all of you too," whispered Usagi. She added bitterly, "But I know none of you would stand for it."

"I know I've died before, but I was a Senshi both times," sighed Rei. "I knew why I was fighting and who I was fighting for. I wasn't just being blatantly harmed. I can't help, but feel betrayed."

"I wouldn't have expected them to do something so underhanded," admitted Ami, "And the feeling of powerlessness…" The bluenette trailed off, words consumed by her own unease.

"I know," agreed Minako, "We all feel the same way." She looked at each one of her downtrodden companions and back towards the wrist watch communicators that the felines had left behind. She sighed. "We're still Senshi though. No matter what they take away from us. No matter what they do to us. We're still Senshi and we're all still together."

Minako bent down and picked up the wrist watches and passed them out. The women all put them on and studied the buttons. There was a button to communicate individually with each one of them in corresponding color and an additional button for an All-call.

Ami studied her new Mercury computer only briefly. It was obviously nicer than the old one, but she wasn't in the mood to test it seriously yet.

"Rei-chan will probably get her powers tomorrow," deduced Minako, "So, I suppose the buddy system is over."

"Maybe, I should stay here just in case," suggested Makoto anxiously. The thought of leaving so abruptly was incredibly jarring to her. She looked towards Rei, who seemed intent on glaring holes into the floor.

Ami turned to Rei. "If you don't mind, I think we should all stay here. It's late and we still have a lot to think over as a group."

"You know you're always welcome," smiled Rei weakly.

Minako's eyes trailed along the enervated faces of her dearest friends, wishing there was something else she could offer. But she needed time to think things over too. Words weren't going to cover up their individual scars. Not yet at least.

"We'll talk more in the morning," resolved Minako, "Everyone get some sleep if you can."

The weight in the air hadn't lifted, but they were grateful for the slight reprieve nonetheless. Blankets and pillows were passed around and the women settled amongst the couches and floor in the t.v. room. Makoto and Rei returned to their bedroom. They got into their respective sleeping areas and tried to drift off.

"Why were you here if they told you not to be?" asked Rei in the thick, dark silence. She didn't have to look at Makoto to know that she was awake.

Makoto didn't shift from staring at the ceiling. "I don't know."

"Were you going to interfere?"

The brunette closed her eyes. She wanted to protect Rei. More than anything she wanted to. But she couldn't. And she didn't. "No."

"Then, what were you doing outside?"

"I…I don't know," admitted Makoto, "Seeing if you were still alive, I guess."

"I see."

Another silence overtook them. The two remained keenly aware of each other.

The shrine maiden spoke again. "Why did you leave today?"

Rei's questions were simple, but they were killing Makoto. She was wracked with guilt over the things she did, didn't do, should have done, and should have said. She had no idea what to think any longer.

"Does it even matter anymore?" she sighed, drained from the ordeal. She didn't want to argue, especially when she had nothing to offer in her defense.

But the firebrand apparently was in the mood for a fight. "It mattered when you didn't come back and worried me sick!"

"Well, it doesn't matter now," she tried to say to be reassuring. "I don't live here anymore, so you don't have to worry." She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. In trying to derail an impending argument, she managed to say something that wasn't the least bit assuring. As usual.

"I suppose we can both just get back to our lives and just forget that all of this happened then," snapped Rei. Hurt, she rolled over and turned her back on Makoto. She heard a defeated sigh come from the brunette.

"Rei?" she implored.

There was no answer.

Overwhelmed with regret over feelings she couldn't even comprehend, Makoto wanted to just run off.

The shrine maiden remained facing away, eyes clenched shut. Rei could hear the brunette changing clothes and leaving the room.

She hated herself for not saying anything back.

* * *

"Where's Mako-chan?" asked Usagi, when Rei stepped into the room the next morning.

"I'm not her keeper, how should I know?" spat Rei.

"I'm here, Usagi-chan," said Makoto, entering the room. She sat down next the tired princess, who shrieked at the proximity of cold.

"Mako-chan! You're freezing! Were you outside?"

When she had left Rei's room that night, Makoto wandered aimlessly outside for a while. Then, she took to the rooftop and watched the blazing sun come up over Tokyo's horizon. She chuckled lightly and scooted away. "I was just watching the sunrise."

Minako rolled onto her back from her position on the floor. "I suppose you got about as much sleep as I did then."

"None at all?" answered Ami from the other couch, red eyed.

"Barely a wink," admitted Rei, although for differing reasons.

"The cats are outside," noted Makoto, "They've been watching me watching them for a while. Should we invite them in?"

_'Let them freeze,'_ Minako wanted to say for a moment. Instead, she opted to be more mature and leader-like. With a relenting sigh, she nodded, "If we want any new information, then we have to."

Makoto left briefly and returned with their former mentors trailing hesitantly behind her.

"I hope that you've all had time to consider our actions," said Luna.

Minako replied coldly, "We recognize that there are still important things to be discussed."

"Fair enough," nodded the weary white feline. "As you had probably noticed, those youma were relatively low powered. They went down through electric shock, stopping of the heart, strangulation, and whatever it was that Rei did to win last night."

"I shot an ofuda arrow into its stupid face," uttered Rei darkly.

"Well done," acknowledged Artemis briefly before continuing, "Those youma, while still resilient and dangerous, could have been taken down by modern military grade firearms. The next batch may not go down as easily. But luckily, neither will any of you anymore."

"Go down easily he says..." groused Makoto.

"Next batch?" repeated Usagi, "Are you sending more after us?"

"No, we won't," assured Luna sincerely, "But they're still out there."

Minako raised an eyebrow. "And you're not lying?"

Artemis shook his head. Minako's mistrust was justified, but it still hurt him nonetheless. "No."

"Our enemies get stronger and stronger each time. The Ginzoushou attracts darkness because evil wants to harness and destroy its good. Because of this, we need to continue training your magics."

Rei peered at her hand and a small flame flickered. She closed her palm, and it disappeared without leaving a trace.

"We're going to hold regularly scheduled training sessions twice a week," proclaimed Artemis. He paused, waiting for impending opposition, particularly from Rei or Makoto. But neither of them had any comments.

"If we're all in agreement then, we'd like to start in two days," said Luna. She added, "I trust that is enough time to get you affairs in order."

The Senshi knew that she was alluding to the now dismantled buddy system. It had been several weeks of constant togetherness, and as abruptly as it had begun, it was over.

The felines seemed to have nothing more to say on the topic and left. Relations with the Senshi, they knew, were going to need a great deal of time and repair, and they didn't want to stress anything else.

"So that's it," sighed Minako, flopping back down on the sofa. She turned her head towards Ami and smiled faintly. "It's been a wild ride, huh Ami-chan?"

Ami giggled slightly, and the tense air amongst them lifted slightly.

"Well, I'm practically moved in with my Mamo-chan," declared Usagi, "I don't feel like moving my stuff, so I think I'm just going to stay."

Rei and Makoto glanced at each other, but neither said a word.


	12. Chapter 12 - The Confidante

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Twelve - The Confidante

_What can I tell you? I don't even know what to tell myself._

continue.

* * *

Makoto sat on the couch in her apartment, staring listlessly at the wall. It was so quiet. She didn't remember the air being this dead before. She didn't remember her home feeling so empty.

She turned toward the window, eyes trailing along a line of neglected house plants. They drooped sadly from the cold and lack of regular watering. Their dying wasn't really helping liven the place up.

The anxious brunette retreated into the kitchen, hoping to find some solace there. The slight reprieve didn't last very long. Upon noticing that her fridge was of course empty, she went to the grocery store to stock up. An hour later, it was full of ingredients for Rei's favorite meals. She hadn't really noticed herself doing that while she was in the store. But when she unpacked, each untypical item was another grim reminder that she wasn't cooking for anyone, but herself now.

She suddenly had no appetite. Stepping out onto her balcony, she stared up at the heavy clouds, wishing she could see the stars behind them. She waited, but they refused to budge.

Defeated, she returned to her neglected bed. It soon became clear that while she was tired, she wasn't even remotely sleepy. She clenched her eyes shut regardless and thought about her last encounter with Rei.

Their inevitable goodbye had been awkward. Astoundingly blasé even, like it had been the end of an average sleepover. A monotone, "I'll see you later." Followed by a rigid, "Yeah, have a good one." She had packed her things in relative silence. She wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came out. She could tell Rei was agitated.

Makoto tossed and turned. Finding a comfortable position seemed strangely impossible. It was as if her senses were distracted by every minute detail that wasn't the same. The recirculated air lacked the scent of sandalwood that encompassed the shrine. The synthetic glow of a street lamps creeping in from the window replaced the broken streams of moonlight escaping past the trees. The sporadic noise of late night cars passing in the distance were in stark contrast to the faint sound of Rei's steady exhales.

And Makoto's mind wouldn't stop replaying the scene that she wanted to talk about, but never did.

_"I did it for you,"_ echoed Rei's hushed whisper.

In that moment, Makoto saw something her raven haired companion's searching expression. There was a meaning that she didn't recognize. And there was a undefinable significance in the way Rei said her name…

_"Makoto…I-"_

It was maddening.

What was she going to say?

That long first night alone wasn't only hard on Makoto. A similar restlessness was playing out a short distance across town. Seated neath the warm glow of open flame, Rei prayed. She prayed for her late Grandfather and long passed mother. She prayed for the good health of Yuuichirou, where ever he was. She prayed for the safety and happiness of her dearest friends. She did all of this with every detailed motion and proper ritual.

But she didn't pray a thing for herself. It seemed ill suited to hope for her own happiness. What she wanted needed to be buried. She would hope again when there was something less impossible to hope for.

A vision of a green eyed warrior flashed through her head, as she closed her eyes to meditate. When her eyes shot open, a similar visage burned itself into the flame before her.

It wasn't entirely shocking to see the fire reflecting her current state of mind. She had come into the room escape the recollection of their last moments together, but that kind of peace was apparently too much to ask for.

She returned to bed and stopped trying to fight her thoughts away. She relented to them, allowing her stream of consciousness the freedom to flow on. A great deal had occurred. Yet, her memory kept stopping at one moment.

She closed her eyes and saw Makoto peering back at her, emerald pools ever expectant.

_"Makoto…I-" _

She heard herself stop, disrupted by reality crashing against her momentary lapse of self awareness.

Words were on the verge of spilling out of her mouth. She could feel them emanating at the time. But now, a mere day later, she couldn't figure out what those words were going to be.

It was maddening.

What was she going to say?

* * *

It was the longest that Minako had ever kept a secret, other than her identity as Sailor V. And she hadn't even kept that to herself for very long. Yet, here she was, still hanging on to this juicy piece of info. It had been weeks, and she still hadn't told anyone about her newfound love vision.

It wasn't perfected yet, but she was getting used to the partial omniscience. She was still trying to sort through the different levels of love that she was encountering, like infatuation or puppy love vs soul mates. It was a bit blurry around the edges still, but she could definitely say she was improving. Thankfully, she at least figured out how to turn it off. As it turned out, having the vision flipped on all day drained her magical energies almost to the point of sheer exhaustion, so she only tried to summon up her second sight when she needed to practice. Or was bored.

Either way, no one was the wiser. She found her offensive powers soon after. Shooting crescent beams without being transformed? Way cool. And way useful on a dark battlefield. Since everyone just accepted that light beams were her new thing, she didn't need to tell anyone about her love powers.

At first it was fun to have the secret to herself, but after a week, she was dying to tell Ami. She wanted to prove to the genius, who never believed her predictions, that she was the real deal. However, she promised herself to wait after she had gotten Rei and Makoto together. That would be her first test and she had to do it without cheating. How unromantic would it be if she just told them to get together? It would be so boring and unfun. Plus stupid. Very stupid.

Makoto would be so embarrassed that she wouldn't leave her apartment for days, and Rei would be so pissed that Minako would be tasting broom for a week for 'invading her private thoughts.' And knowing them, they wouldn't fully believe her that the other one felt the same and then flat out avoid each other for good measure. Oh, they'd take it completely the wrong way, Minako knew.

She wished that one of them would just hurry up and confess. Then, she could laugh triumphantly and reveal that she knew it all along and helped them along because she was magic. But the blockheaded pair wasn't helping _her_ in the least.

They had three Senshi training sessions so far. And they all ended the same way: with Rei or Makoto making up some bullshit excuse and running off. How were they supposed to get together if they were too scared to stay in the same room for more than five minutes?

"Rei-chan and Mako-chan are busy people," concluded Ami nonchalantly, "They have a lot of responsibilities to catch up on."

"No, they had a fight or something," Minako deduced, "I have no idea what about, but something in their relationship went sour."

The bluenette's exasperation with the topic showed through. "For the last time, they don't have a relationship like that."

"Not if I can help it!" proclaimed Minako.

The genius just went back to reading. Man, Ami was never going to believe her at this rate.

Minako decided it was up to The Goddess of Love to speed things up. "I'm going to talk to Mako-chan about this."

After the fourth training session at the park, Rei was the first one to excuse herself. Minako cornered Makoto staring at the woman's fleeting silhouette and asked, "What did you do to piss Rei-chan off?"

Makoto was taken aback, "Wha-what?"

"You two haven't spoken in like a week. What happened?"

The fighter hesitated. "We've spoken."

Minako shot her a disbelieving look. "Barely."

Makoto conceded with a sigh. She knew Minako was right, she just didn't want to admit it.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The brunette avoided the inquisitive blue eyes. "I don't think so…But thanks."

A sudden wave of exasperation emerged from the blonde. "Oh come on! Why not?"

Makoto's attention darted about, searching for the perfect excuse for escape. She couldn't find one immediately and instead blurted out, "I don't know. It's complicated."

Not one to be deterred, Minako pressed on with unnerving enthusiasm. "And I'm not? Mako-chan, I have magical powers and live with a talking cat. I'm a resurrected alien princess super hero, for Peter's sake! I know complicated."

"It's not you I'm worried about," protested Makoto in frustration, "It's me who doesn't really know what's going on."

Minako grasped the vexed woman's hand gently. Softly, came the words, "Well maybe _I_ will once you explain it to me."

Makoto gulped, when she met Minako's suddenly intense gaze. This wasn't going to go anywhere she liked.

"Come on. Are we friends or not?"

She hesitated at the loaded question. Obviously they were friends, but why did that suddenly matter so much all of a sudden? Slowly she acknowledged, "Of course we're friends."

The statement elicited a large, genuine smile. Much to Makoto's surprise, the formerly gentle hand yanked her into sitting position on a nearby bench. Next to her, the ocean eyed blonde plopped down eagerly. "Alright then. Friends talk to each other, so it's settled. I've tall ears."

"But I-" the brunette began to protest, but got caught up in sudden confusion. "Wait-What does that even mean?"

Minako shrugged. "You know…it's like my ears are huge because I'm listening so hard."

Makoto paused and considered. "I…still don't think that's right." She knew this one, didn't she? "I think it's, 'I'm all ears,'" she finally decided.

The Love Goddess's face scrunched, as a bizarre creature made of ears danced through her imagination. "Ew, gross." Who the hell would say that? It didn't even make any sense!

"Mine's better anyway," she resolved.

"Uh…sure."

The pair sat there in a brief silence. Makoto was still somewhat bewildered at how Minako manipulated her into these sort of awkward situations so easily, when she had already said no.

"Tell me what's been on your mind. How about we start there?"

"I guess…I don't know…I just…I-" Makoto sighed and leaned back on the park bench, gazing at the sky. Her meddlesome companion still had a light grip on her hand, as if she was going to bolt any second. Which granted was a possibility. But the fighter stayed, resigning herself to the fact that Minako apparently wasn't going to let her go.

She relented, "I miss her."

Minako loosened her grip slightly, trying to ease her skittish friend's tension a bit. The small statement was a start. She prodded. "Go on."

"I don't know if you knew this, but Rei-chan and I got really close. I mean, you expect to get to know someone better once you live with them, but this honestly took me by surprise. And it's not to say that we weren't good friends before, because I'm good friends with all of you guys. It's just…for some reason, this time it was different. I mean, I don't know, I just..."

Before a nervous Makoto could go too far off track, Minako reigned her back in. "It's fine Mako-chan. I'm not offended. We're still really good friends, I understand. But about your friendship with Rei-chan…What's different about it?"

"It got so…open," she answered honestly, "I told her things that I haven't told anyone and I think she did the same. She told me things about herself and her past that I had no idea about, and it just made me admire her all the more. She's just this truly amazing person."

Minako smirked internally, now that Makoto was beginning to loosen her lips. The Love Goddess began to bait her. "Of course, Rei-chan is amazing. What? You didn't know that before?"

"Not like I know now. Before, I admired her for different reasons. She had this mysterious vibe to her, which I'll admit was cool and all, but she's way more than that. I think I started to unravel the mystery a bit."

"Yeah, it was like that with me and Ami-chan too," acknowledged Minako, "She's all glasses and textbooks on the surface, but you wouldn't believe some of the things our little genius enjoys on her off time."

"Like what?"

The jaunty woman couldn't contain her cheshire grin. "Trashy romance novels mostly, but that's beside the point. Keep talking."

Makoto let out a light laugh. Without either of them realizing it, Minako was finally getting her to relax. "Well, like I said, we got close," she continued, "I really enjoyed being at the shrine with her. It was nice to see her in the morning when I started my day and have someone to eat dinner with and say good night to. I had been so used to being alone that it wasn't really all that lonely before. But now my apartment just feels so empty. I don't know, maybe I should get a roommate or something."

Minako fought the urge to giggle incessantly. Her silly friend was so cute, when she was being dense. "You know, Mako-chan…while a roommate might give you somebody to be around more often, I don't think that would solve your Rei-chan problem."

Makoto blinked. Rei-chan problem? The term sounded odd when it hit her ears, but she supposed the blonde wasn't being inaccurate. But it was such a simple label for such a complex feeling. Complex in a way that Makoto herself didn't even know how to explain it.

"I guess you're right," she admitted. "It probably wouldn't be the same. We used to have these really intense conversations, and now we've barely spoken five words to each other in a week. She won't even look at me."

The hurt in Makoto's voice struck a chord within Minako. Suddenly, she wanted to comfort her friend by just admitting everything she knew, but managed to hold the impulse back. Instead, she ventured to ask, "What do you think went wrong?"

The simple question elicited a wry laugh. "That's the complicated part. I'm not exactly sure."

The fighter tried to piece the events back together in sequence. "We had a minor argument about me working instead of resting, after straining my magic. But she seemed pretty happy to see me after her battle. And then, we argued a little again before bed, and she stopped talking to me altogether. I'm not even sure what the second one was even about because it didn't last more than a few words."

"Maybe Rei-chan just couldn't figure out what to say," suggested Minako.

The memory of Rei's intense amethyst gaze flooded Makoto's mind. Her eyes unfocused, as she tried to decipher the message in those beckoning orbs. "She was going to tell me something after the battle. But Usagi-chan showed up, and it all got pushed aside. It's been driving me nuts because I knew it was important."

Ocean eyes went wide. Minako's anticipatory expression might have betrayed her, but her preoccupied friend was in no condition to pick up on such cues. "What do you think she was going to say?"

The brunette paused and considered. She started to speak, then decided against it. Instead she muttered, "I don't know," before delving back into a stressful looking contemplation.

Minako quietly and simply queried, "Why don't you go and ask her?"

"Because I'm scared." It took Makoto a moment to realize that she had actually said it out loud. Minako looked equally surprised at the statement.

"You're what?"

"Nothing!" she blurted out, "Forget I said that."

"No," insisted Minako. "Scared of what?"

Makoto suddenly burst out of her seat. Minako hadn't anticipated the move and lost her grip on the retreating fighter. "You know what, Mina-chan. I'm feeling a lot better now. Thanks. I'll see you around."

"Wait, Mako-chan!" pleaded the blonde, "Please! Hold on!" Makoto stopped a few meters away.

Minako spoke gently, "Fine. I won't ask about all that. Just stay a little bit longer please. For me?"

Makoto hesitantly sat back down and fidgeted. As soon as Minako was sure that the brunette wasn't going to flee, she declared a bit more forcefully, "You need to talk to Rei-chan."

"She won't talk back," came the weak reply.

"It doesn't matter. You just need to tell her what's in your heart. Even if it's scary."

Makoto shivered, feeling strangely exposed. She managed to sputter out, "What's in my heart? What do you mean?"

"I want you to be happy, Mako-chan," spoke the blonde earnestly, forcing her nervous friend to look her in the eye, "I really do. So, if you ever follow any of my advice, which I know Ami-chan has already told you never to do, at least do this: march over to the shrine tomorrow and just lay it all out there."

Minako couldn't believe the sight of the scattered looking brunette. In all the years that she had known the brave fighter, she had never seen Makoto looking so uncertain and vulnerable.

"One more thing to help you along." Minako squeezed her friend's hand reassuringly. "Rei-chan cares about you. A lot. So much that you probably can't say anything to make her stop doing that. Keep that in mind, if you need a little bravery boost."

Minako gave her an encouraging smile and rose. Makoto didn't respond to the blonde's kiss on her cheek and wish of, "Good luck." She just sat there on the park bench. Long after her companion had departed, a droplet of water fell on the her cheek. And then another on her leg. And another overhead. She barely noticed or responded, when the skies gave way to increasingly heavy rain.

Instead of fleeing, covering up, going inside, or doing anything at all, she sat there. Unmoving. Wracking her brain about how exactly she was supposed to put words to all the things that were fluttering within her heart.

* * *

"Hahahaha!" came a delighted cackle from the corner of Rei's room. The shrine maiden gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the odangoed blonde sifting gleefully through her manga. Instead, she attempted to focus on her task at hand: folding the goddamn laundry.

"Oh my gosh!" gasped Usagi, as she turned to a new page.

"Usagi-chan…" growled Rei in a low voice. The blonde was too wrapped up in the manga to notice the warning.

"Nooo!" squealed the oblivious princess, "I can't believe it! Why would he do that?"

"Usagi-chan…" repeated the raven haired woman in a louder, more menacing tone.

"Have you read this, Rei-chan?" asked Usagi, still failing to notice the throbbing vein in Rei's forehead, "It's insane!"

"How am I supposed to read it, when you're always stealing my manga before I get a chance and getting peanut butter all over the pages?" snapped Rei loudly.

Usagi was taken aback for a moment. She regained her sunny composure quickly. "It was just that one time."

Rei sighed and muttered, "I know. I'm sorry. Could you just read more quietly? I'm trying to get some chores done."

She took some relaxing breaths and tried to compose herself. She was about just calmed down, until her inept companion continued with the comment, "Since when do you need quiet to fold clothes?"

"Tsukino, I swear to Kami-sama that I will-"

Usagi rolled her eyes at the display of rage. She was used to Rei being unnecessarily angry, but the her touchy friend was jumping the gun on this one. There was no need in Usagi's mind. She hadn't even done anything yet. "Calm down, Rei-chan. No need to be such a drama queen."

As expected, Rei didn't appreciate the casual remark. "I'm not being a drama queen!"

"Okay, stop being a sourpuss then."

"I'm not being a damn sourpuss either."

Usagi set down the manga in frustration. "Fine! Whatever you want to call it. Either way, you've been grouchy all week. Even more so than usual."

Rei was a bit startled by Usagi's outburst. "What? No I haven't."

Usagi pressed knowingly. "Admit it, you've been majorly stressed lately."

Rei considered this. As much as it pained her to say, the odangoed idiot wasn't incorrect. "I suppose I have been a bit on edge recently."

"See? I was right," smiled Usagi, "So just tell Mako-chan, you're sorry."

At the mention of that name, Rei started to sputter defensively, "What does Mako-chan have to do with anything?"

Usagi shrugged. "Well, you guys have been acting like you've been a fight."

"We're not," she denied vehemently.

"You sure?"

"Yes!" shouted the firebrand, "And even if we were, why do you instantly assume that it's _my_ fault?"

Another shrug. "Educated guess."

Indignantly, Rei declared, "I'll have you know that it's not me, it's _her_."

"So, you _are_ in a fight?" questioned Usagi innocently.

Rei felt herself losing ground fast. She tried to think of a quick non incriminating reply, but instead squeaked out, "I didn't say that!"

Usagi laid a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. Gently, she prodded, "Come on, Rei-chan. You'll feel better once you just come out and say it."

The warm gesture managed to quell a bit of the fire. Rei let out a long, arduous sigh and finally conceded, "Fine. Things are a bit weird between the two of us."

It led to the most obvious next question for Usagi. "Why are things weird?"

Rei wanted to tell her friend, but couldn't really bring herself to admit anything out loud about the matter. She didn't know how. Instead, she just said, "I don't know. They just are."

"Aren't you going to ever just talk to her about it?"

"I don't know what to say to her. That's my problem."

"Start with 'Hi Mako-chan, sorry I've been avoiding you. Can we be friends again, so that Usagi-chan, Ami-chan, and Minako-chan don't have to watch us be awkward all the time?'"

Troubled amethyst eyes went downcast. "It's that easy, huh?"

"Of course, it's that easy," nodded Usagi. "Why wouldn't it be? You two are friends. You've been friends since we were fourteen, and if Crystal Tokyo has anything to say about the matter, you're going to be friends even after we're three thousand. Whatever it is that you two are fighting or 'not fighting' about isn't anywhere as important as your friendship."

Usagi's words were more painful that she really knew. Rei sat there, letting the key word soak in. Once again, the odango-atama was right, and it was like series of pinpricks to the heart. Rei's feelings weren't worth ruining their friendship over. They needed to be buried. Quickly and permanently.

Rei had to just accept the truth. She and Makoto were just going to be friends. For the next thousand years and beyond. If she wanted to keep that very important relationship in tact, she had better get rid of all those extra feelings that threatened to poison their unity. And if she didn't do it soon, she ran the risk of either carrying those unwarranted desires with her into the next Millennium and further alienating the person that she wanted closest.

"I'll talk to her, Usagi-chan," she whispered quietly.

The shrine maiden's defeated tone elicited a puzzled frown. "Uhh…Rei-chan. That was a pep talk, key word being 'pep.' But it seems like it just made you sad. What's the matter?"

Rei tried to fake a smile or drum up some mock anger. When she couldn't stir up any physical reassurance at all, she merely said, "Nothing. I'm just tired."

"You sure?" asked Usagi unbelievingly.

"Yeah," repeated Rei, "And you're right. Our friendship is priority. I'll talk to her next time I see her alone. Maybe, I'll call her in a few days when I'm ready."

A poorly timed knock echoed from down the hall.

The curious princess stood up and looked out the window. "Yikes! It's still raining cats and dogs out there. Who the heck would be coming over in this storm?"

"I have no idea," replied the shrine maiden. The pair padded down the hall and opened the front door to find a soaked figure waiting on the porch. Rei swallowed hard, as she came across a pair of pale green eyes.

A poorly timed knock indeed.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Gain

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Thirteen - The Gain

_So this is it. _

continue.

* * *

Usagi greeted her friend with a large ear to ear grin. "Mako-chan! How good of you to join us!" She ignored the dirty look shot her way from the peeved shrine maiden at her left.

Before them, the troubled looking brunette stood, drenched from head to toe. "Can I come in?" she mumbled pathetically.

Though Rei's first instinct was to worry and fuss gently, she chose to mask it with a more characteristic irritability, "You idiot! Get in here! You're going to catch your death of cold out there."

Makoto complied silently and began to remove her wet shoes and socks outside of the door.

"Oh come on, Rei-chan!" chided Usagi delightedly, "It's not so bad out there. In fact, I think it's just starting to let up."

Makoto cocked her head curiously, as she removed her sopping wet jacket. Even a fleeting glance could tell someone that the clouds were flooding the skies. But since it was Usagi saying the contrary, she just shrugged and let her jacket hit the porch floor with a heavy squish.

Rei, still not in the mood for Usagi's nonsense, stared at the blonde incredulously. "What the hell are you talking about? You just said yourself that you thought it was raining cats and dogs!"

Usagi let out an amused giggle at brunette's quiet puzzlement and firebrand's booming impatience. She wished that she could watch their upcoming fight/not-fight, as it would probably prove to be something dramatic, but she figured it more wise to skedaddle and let them duke it out alone. "Cats and dogs? Did I say that? Nope, looks manageable to me." She eyed the umbrella hanging on the hook by the door briefly. "You know, I should probably get to Mamo-chan's, while it just puppies and kittens. So…IguessI'llborrowthisthanksbye!"

Without a moment's notice, the grinning princess yanked the umbrella off the hook and flew out the door, knocking past the confused fighter. Rei only had time to blink after the abrupt departure, before she realized what Usagi was doing.

"Odango-atama, that's my only umbrella! Come back here!"

The shrine maiden chased her as far as the edge of the porch, before the awning ceased its protection. She suddenly remembered who she was left alone with. "Tsukino! I'll get you for this!"

She turned back in a huff and was face to face with a bewildered Makoto. The pair stood there awkwardly, neither quite grasping what to say next.

"Um...let's get you into some dry clothes," said the raven haired woman quietly. Her friend nodded in relief and followed her down the hallway.

When they entered Rei's bedroom, Makoto took in how strange it seemed to be back again. She had spent a significant part of the winter season at the shrine, and much of it in that very room. As Rei rummaged through the drawers, Makoto gazed at the clear portion of the floor that her sleeping futon had once occupied. And the corner where her suitcases used to sit. The room seemed uncomfortably larger.

"Here," said Rei, tossing over a large t-shirt.

Upon catching it, one side of the brunette's mouth curled nostalgically. "This is the same shirt you gave me to wear the first time I came around here like this. Uh, after the first attack, I mean."

"Yeah, I remember now," replied the shrine maiden distractedly. She handed her sopping wet companion a pair of loose shorts and tried not to stare as the fighter began to change into them. Makoto, still caught up in the memory, failed to catch the struggle on Rei's face, as she extricated herself from the clinging of the rain soaked fabrics.

When she finished putting the shirt and pants on, she finally noticed the firebrand looking at her with an unplaceable expression. It made her instantly self conscious. "Yikes, I must look a mess. Can I borrow a hairbrush?"

"Err yes, of course," stammered Rei nervously. She flitted towards her bureau and handed her friend a brush. "And you don't look a mess at all! You look…"

Beautiful, she wanted to say. Instead she said, "You look fine."

Makoto smiled gratefully and began to run the hairbrush through her dripping locks. Rei swallowed hard, as she fought against how stunning the woman looked with her chestnut hair down. With a noisy thud, she sat down on her bed and pulled her focus toward the wall. Sooner than Rei liked, Makoto finished her task and sat down next to her.

"Your hair looks nice when it's down," mumbled Rei impulsively.

The compliment caught Makoto off guard. It wasn't at all what she expected her tempestuous companion to start off saying. But it was far better than the wrath she _had_ been expecting. "Really? Thanks."

"Yeah…"

Rei had heard somewhere that silence was golden. It was unfortunate that she could feel herself becoming wealthier by the second. Every word that was coming into her head was wrong and sounded cold and unfeeling, while every word that wasn't coming out of her mouth was adding to the thick layer of quiet. She was making a concerted effort to not simply blurt out the first thing that came to her mind, just for the sake of saying something.

And as it turned out, Rei didn't have to. Makoto ended up doing it first. "I'm sorry," she said suddenly.

It was the unexpected start of the conversation that the shrine maiden should have expected from the brunette. She had been preparing herself more for a, _'We haven't been talking for a while.'_ Or, _'Are you okay? Something's been wrong.' _

But as usual, Makoto skipped right to the self blaming portion of the conversation. It was exasperating.

"Stop apologizing," said Rei, "You're always apologizing."

The fighter let out an unsure laugh. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm a screw up like that."

"You're not," spoke Rei with a sincere gentleness.

Makoto bit her lip and made eye contact with the the floor. She didn't want the tenderness in her friend's face to distract her from delivering her well thought-out apology.

"Yes I am," she affirmed with authority to the floorboards, "You don't have to say I'm not. Look, I'm sorry about not being around a lot towards the end and worrying you that day I went out and didn't come back. And for everything else I said and did since then. I should have treated you better than that."

It was then, that Rei realized Makoto didn't just instantly blame herself as usual. The conclusion had actually come out of a much longer period of guilt and regret. "Mako-chan…"

"Hold on," interrupted Makoto starkly, "Let me finish. I need to get this out there before I forget my train of thought and screw up what it was that I wanted to say." She tried to summon the sentences that had taken her hours to come up with. The good, clean version. Not the first one where the words all sucked and didn't mean what they were supposed to. After a deep breath, she pressed on, "That last month we spent together was really special to me. I felt really close to you and I miss that. There. I said it. I miss you. You mean a lot to me and I want to go back to the way things were."

In the middle of her ramblings, Makoto had shut her eyes, as if seeing made her more transparent. She waited behind clenched eyelids for a response, but was met only by dead air.

Anxiety washed over her. Perhaps she had said too much. She thought she had filtered out the words to something that was still truthful, but respectful without being way too familiar. Or maybe they weren't familiar enough? Maybe she sounded insincere. Was it too short?

As Makoto's mind raced and analyzed her admission behind closed eyes, she missed the sight of a tear trickling down her friend's cheek. It was wiped out of existence right away.

In Rei's heart, the candid confession was another dagger. She had, less than an hour ago, resolved to bury her feelings completely for the greater good of their relationship. But it was too soon. She couldn't stop herself so easily.

"I don't know I can do that just yet," she admitted painfully. The closer they got, the more torturous it would feel. "I need some more time."

Rei's answer was an anticlimax. There wasn't any pent up fury or embittered reply. Just a flat refusal. "Oh," said Makoto dejectedly. When she opened her eyes, she was overwhelmed by a bright numbness.

The shrine maiden studied the disconsolate expression on the fighter's face and quickly amended, "It's not because of anything you did, Mako-chan. I'm just having a rough time with some very personal stuff. That's all."

The brunette visibly tensed. "That's all," she echoed in a hollow tone.

She felt like she had been punched in the stomach. _'It's not you, it's me.' _She always hated it when people said things like that to her. She had been hearing versions of that rejection her entire life. Every time, it was an excuse to just get away without a real explanation. And every time, it made her want to scream out loud.

Hearing it from Rei made it even worse. _How could she?_

The stupefied emerald eyes slowly hardened in recognition.

"Personal stuff?" Makoto's voice began to rise. "No, Rei-chan. People have brushed me off with the 'it's not you, it's me' thing way more times than I can count. I can't let you can't get away with that one. Not this time. Not again. However 'personal' this might be, it directly involves me and I deserve to know what the hell you really mean! What's going on?"

Apparently, Rei had come across the magic words to infuriate the thundering amazon. Though it was typically the firebrand who was set off into a fury, she then found herself on the other edge, startled and incoherent.

"I-I can't say," she faltered.

The angered woman started to pace the room, both astonished and enraged by the obvious lies. "I thought we were able to talk openly by now. I mean, after everything we went through together, I thought that we were past the secrecy! But apparently this is too fucking personal and that last month we spent talking about everything personal meant absolutely nothing!"

"Mako-chan, please just drop it," implored Rei, in a pained voice.

The plea was met with a vehement refusal. "No! I'm not going to drop it. Not until you just tell me. Why can't we go back to the way we were?"

"Because we have to be friends!"

Makoto stopped in her tracks and stared. "Rei-chan?"

"I can't do this." Rei made a quick move for the door. The fighter almost missed, but managed to catch her wrist and pull back. The shrine maiden tugged her wrist forcefully, but couldn't remove herself from the green eyed powerhouse's grip. "Just let me go!"

The tormented demand only made her draw Rei in closer. The firebrand tried to shove Makoto back, but the grip became tighter. She locked arms around her struggling companion. "No, I'm not letting you leave. Not yet."

Rei's fervor to escape began to wain. She really didn't want to talk about it, but the hold remained unavoidably solid. Though it was unlikely she would find a move that Makoto wouldn't be able to effectively counter, she continued to make half hearted attempts.

Makoto spoke clearly into Rei's ear. The proximity made her quiver. The thunder in the brunette's voice rolled off into a quieter, yet firm rumble. "That first day we fought, you ran off before we could talk things out. And later that night, we should have talked, but I walked out instead of trying harder. This time, neither of us is going anywhere."

She stopped shifting. A subdued sigh was released, but she said nothing.

"Rei, I care about you and I never want to hurt you," spoke Makoto genuinely, "But just this once. Even if it hurts you to say. Or hurts me to hear. Please tell me. I just need to know. Am I the problem?"

"Yes," choked out Rei defeatedly.

The strong arms that had enclosed her went limp at her sides, and the warmth against her back was replaced by cold dead air. She turned around to see the brunette a few steps away, head hung low.

Makoto knew she was going to screw things up again. Her relationship with Rei had blossomed into this amazingly close connection. But as usual, she got selfish and pushed it too far. In seeking more, she revealed far too much. She didn't know where to draw the line. Of course Rei would be mad. Dammit, why she such a fool?

The immense shame and self loathing crept into her words, as she tried to rectify the situation. "I'm so sorry, Rei-san. I've been too familiar with you. I've been invading your space and making you uncomfortable. I won't be doing it anymore. I'll leave you alone, like you asked, I promise."

Amethyst eyes went wide, as her sullen friend took a broad step towards the door._ Too familiar? Was that what Makoto thought? _

"That's not what I meant," whispered Rei. The broken woman turned back and met her tearful eyes.

She closed the gap between them and rested her head on Makoto's shoulder. She wrapped her arms hesitantly around the brunette's waist. The fighter reciprocated the embrace in confusion.

"I don't understand," breathed Makoto.

"This is the problem," admitted Rei, tears staining Makoto's shirt, "You. Whenever you talk to me sweetly and hold me close, I don't want you to ever stop."

Makoto froze up. Her mouth went instantly dry. Her heart began to race, and the rapid pounding was all she could hear in her head.

Rei felt Makoto's body go rigid, and was sure in that moment, that things could never go back to the way they were. The knowledge that she would be rejected had crossed her mind many a time. It had hurt to think about, but actually living it was an even worse hell.

But she was glad she said it. She didn't have to lie anymore at least. And she knew deep down that Makoto would forgive her in time for all of this. They had so much of it ahead. So in the meantime, the shrine maiden remained in the embrace, waiting for the impending moment that the stunned fighter come to her senses and break it.

When Rei felt Makoto begin to shift, she sighed disconsolately. _So this is it._

To her surprise, she wasn't pushed away. The arms around her shifted in the wrong direction. One arm tightened its hold, and the other rose slowly upwards, until Rei could feel the sensation of Makoto's hand, gently stroking her hair.

The dull beating in her heart jumpstarted.

"I don't want to stop either," Makoto whispered quietly. She rested her cheek atop a soft raven crown and tried to keep from shaking.

The feeling was reminiscent of the times that they laid together beneath the same sheets. But this time, the sensation was more intense. The touch more tender. And in that moment they shared, wrapped in uncertainty and each other's arms, they were both awake.

"Makoto," breathed Rei. She could smell the fresh rain so tantalizingly close. This wasn't real. It couldn't be.

"There was a night that you had a nightmare," murmured the brunette slowly, breathing deep the scent of Rei's hair, "I tried to comfort you and go back to bed, but you asked me to stay with you. It was hard to sleep that night because I wanted to reach out and hold you. I didn't know what to do, so I tried my very best to keep still. But when I woke up, you had ended up in my arms anyway. It scared me, but at the same time, it felt..right."

Rei shifted herself to get a better view of Makoto's face. Gazing directly into a sea of emerald, she admitted in a whisper, "It scared me too."

Makoto swallowed hard. "You were awake?"

Rei nodded. "It was the second time that happened. The first time, you kissed me."

"I couldn't help it. You looked so beautiful."

"Mako-"

Rei was cut off by the sensation of warm lips against her own. It only took her a moment to close her eyes and sink into it. Suddenly nothing else mattered.

It had been an impulsive move that Makoto barely registered herself making. One second she was lost in deep amethyst pools, prepared to drown and in the next blink, her lips were on fire. Her senses were overwhelmed by the scent of sandalwood and caress of silken locks between her fingertips.

Rei released a shaky exhale, as their lips parted. Her knees buckled, and she stumbled slightly to sit on her bed. A wide eyed Makoto sat next to her and took in several shallow breaths.

A remaining tear left a thin trickle trailing down the shrine maiden's cheek. After reaching up to wipe it away, her hand was taken by another. It occurred to Rei, in that moment, that she could wield fire within her very palm, yet she had never felt as warm as when the ardent fighter slowly intertwined their fingers.

The raven haired woman marveled at the gentle grip. She knew the hands to be active from fighting, cooking, and gardening. She could sense the strength behind those callused fingers. How was it that her touch felt so feather soft?

The brunette stared, realizing that she had been wrong about everything. All the doubt, conflicting emotions, fear of the unknown - all of them had to be pushed aside. They had done nothing for her up to now. This time, she would let her heart lead.

"Rei?" She met Rei's gaze once more, brimming with feeling. Ignoring the burning sensation on her cheeks, she pressed on earnestly, "This may go without saying, but I think I'm falling for you."

Something in the back of Rei's head told her that she was probably going to wake up soon. But she _had _to be awake. Every one of her senses was thrumming. The intoxicating scent of spring rain, the light caress of Makoto's thumb slowly brushing the side of her hand, the remaining taste of a honeyed kiss on her bottom lip. The detail was far too crisp and tangible to be imagined. Yet, the sound of those words still hit her ears like the whispers of a hazy daydream.

Makoto's free hand brushed a stray lock away from her face and came to rest against her cheek. The raven haired woman leaned into the caress, sighing languidly. It felt so right. It had to be real.

"If I'm sleeping right now, don't wake me up," exhaled Rei, projecting her thoughts out loud.

The sides of Makoto's mouth curved into a small, but infinitely radiant smile. She was overcome by a multitude of wonderful new feelings that she couldn't begin to describe. She had never been that good with words. So, she kept it simple. "I'm glad."

She laid her heart out and wasn't turned away. Somehow this wonderful woman, beautiful and passionate, who could have any one she wanted - she chose Makoto. Perhaps this moment was her reward for the good deeds she had managed to do, or maybe it was dumb luck. Whatever it was, she wasn't going to give it up.

But where did they both go from there, she then wondered. The possibilities were vast. "What do we do now?"

"I didn't pick up the manual on what to do in these situations," replied Rei, with a growing hint of amusement in her tone, "I have an idea though."

"Oh?"

Rei pulled Makoto in by the shirt collar suddenly. The next thing the fighter knew, she was falling again. The pressure of fiery lips against her own enveloped her completely. It was still incredible, but the feeling was different than the last. They lacked the same hesitation. Behind those lips lay a newfound hunger. It felt as if she'd never find her breath again.

The firebrand broke the kiss after several moments to gauge the reaction. It took Makoto a few beats to catch up. Emerald eyes opened slowly in a delirious haze.

"Wow," was all the stunned brunette managed to whisper.

"I just wanted to see what that would be like," admitted Rei.

"I could get used to that," sighed Makoto languidly, slowly rediscovering what it was like to breathe.

"Maybe you will. But…how about we talk about this tomorrow?" Despite having said very little, Rei found herself overwhelmed. They had shared two kisses thus far. She almost couldn't believe she had been floored by only two kisses, but then again, how often did she kiss one of her best friends? It was never like this with anyone else she had ever been with. Time passed in stolid, unwavering ticks of the clock, but it still felt like the world was moving at a blinding pace.

Makoto's eye darted to her watch. It was much later than she had expected. Her heart and mind were racing and she hadn't even considered the possibility of stopping now. "You sure?"

Rei nodded. She needed to hit the brakes and wrap her brain around their situation. "It might be better if we sleep on it. Clear our heads, you know?"

The brunette was unable to mask her disappointment. Rei couldn't help but release a smirk at how transparent Makoto was all of a sudden. It was a stark difference from the nervous energy of before.

Makoto cleared her throat and rose. "Yeah okay, I get you. I guess I'll go grab my stuff and see you tomorrow."

It took exactly two seconds for Rei to react. Her hand shot out and caught Makoto by the wrist.

The pair paused, both unsure of the action. Despite the conflict swimming in Rei's amethyst gaze, she appeared to make a decision.

Her first sentence was sprinkled with hesitation, "I never said I wanted you to go anywhere." The next hit Makoto's eardrum like a breathy murmur of music, "Stay?"

The bold request elicited a look very new to Rei. Eyes widened and instantly softened, brow furrowed, mouth pursed before crooking into an almost missable smile. Makoto looked straight at her in a peaceful way that said, _'Always.'_

Makoto sat back down and buried her face in the shrine maiden's shoulder. Arms settled around the small of the brunette's back. They remained like that for several moments. And that's exactly what Rei needed, a chance to soak it all in.

It didn't take long for the fighter to ease her mind. Moments ago, she wanted to act. To run around and shout. But suddenly she found herself content to stay still and silent. To simply bask.

That's what they needed. Time to settle. Without words, they agreed to say nothing more.

They leaned down into the bed frame and eventually found their way under the covers. Arms wound gently around each other with a newfound ease of affection. And unencumbered contentment washed away into peaceful slumber.


	14. Chapter 14 - The Interventions

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Fourteen - The Interventions

_We'll talk. I promise._

continue.

* * *

A morning bird twittered about outside the window. Its faint call managed to stir the slumbering amazon. Bleary eyes crept open slowly and blinked away the haze of dreams. She focused upon an all-too-familiar room with a yawn.

It took a moment to register, that she wasn't in an all-too-familiar location. She wasn't on the floor, as she was used to, but in a bed. And pressed against her body wasn't a warm pillow, but a sleeping shrine maiden nestled snugly underneath her arm.

Her heart quickened in panic and surprise before her sleep addled brain could catch up. Shit, how did she manage to do this again? _Oh god, Rei was going to kill-_

_Wait._

Her darting eyes and tensed posture dulled, as she was reminded of the events of the previous night.

She had kissed Rei. And Rei kissed back.

Immense relief washed over her. It was alright. It was actually more than alright.

Makoto relished in the sight of the woman in her arms. She smiled, idly debating whether or not the object of her affections was more asleep or awake. She laid a gentle kiss upon a warm cheek. When deep amethyst eyes fluttered opened, it was an easier decision.

"Hi," she greeted plainly.

"Hi." Rei gave a small, tired smile. It didn't take her long to remember how or why they ended up in bed together. Peaceful emerald eyes reminded her in an instant.

"What time is it?" yawned Rei, stretching luxuriously.

Makoto shifted and looked at the clock for the first time. Her brow furrowed at the sight. "It's…Oh, shit! It's past ten! I have to go!"

The brunette burst from the covers and started changing back into her now dry street clothes. The firebrand rolled over and commented sarcastically, "You sure know how to make a girl feel special."

Makoto paused, with her head still in her shirt. She slowed her pace slightly. "I'm really sorry, Rei-chan. I'm going to be late for work."

Rei muttered something unintelligible underneath her breath. Then, replied, "Of course, you are."

The fighter finished flailing around with her stubborn pant leg and sat down on the bed. She leaned down above the annoyed shrine maiden. "Hey, don't be like that. I want to stay. I know we need to talk. But I have to go in today. It slipped my mind last night. I can't miss it or I'll be fired."

"You can't call in sick?" suggested Rei hopefully.

Makoto shook her head. "It's a mandatory staff meeting. They're training us on the new menu items. Obaa-san is already gonna kick my ass for being late."

"But, I don't want you to go."

Makoto paused, scratched the back of her head bashfully, and let out an embarrassed grin. "You know, I'm really glad to hear you say that. The meeting won't be more than a couple hours long. I'll be back in no time and we can spend the rest of the day together."

"That had better be a promise," stated the firebrand, eyeing her flatly.

"I promise."

Makoto bent down to give Rei a quick peck on the lips. Insistent arms wrapped themselves behind her neck and pulled deeper before she could retract. The lingering kiss soon became anything, but quick. The enthralled woman would have been content to lose herself in the haze, but there was a voice in the back of her head that was shouting practicalities at her. It sounded kind of like Ami, in a way.

What was it saying?

Oh right. Fired. She had to go or be fired.

She broke the contact, trying to remember herself. "I-um…I gotta…because…work…"

Rei smirked openly at the frazzled wreck before her, "Fine, get out of here, Mako-chan. I don't want you to get in too much trouble." It was true. They had waited this long, they could wait another couple hours. She couldn't help, but be smugly satisfied at how easily Makoto could be left a sputtering mess.

The wide eyed brunette straightened and was out the door. Rei rolled over, trying to recapture the memory of her fighter's warmth. She let out a contented sigh and closed her eyes once more.

The approach of rapid footsteps broke through the calm, and she turned back towards the door. In an instant, Makoto was back, clad in the still-damp jacket she had left on the porch.

The brunette laid a brief kiss on the cheek. "I almost forgot to say, 'bye.'"

Rei smiled, but gestured toward the clock. "Aren't you late?"

"Oh, most definitely. But I'll deal." Makoto spun on her heel. "I'll be thinking about you!" she said, as she bolted out the room and away from the shrine at top speed.

"Me too," whispered Rei to the empty doorway. She turned in the bed and could still smell Makoto's rain soaked scent in the pillow.

* * *

A blue haired genius trotted up the Hikawa Shrine steps that morning with a purpose. She had business with its caretaker. The topic had green eyes and a blockheaded sensibility.

As she reached the top step, she found Rei sweeping and humming a jovial tune.

"Ohayo, Rei-chan!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Ohayo, Ami-chan!" replied the shrine maiden with bright smile, "What a nice surprise."

"I figured I'd drop by before my classes. How you are doing?"

"Just fantastic. It's such a beautiful day, isn't it?" Rei sighed almost dreamily.

The bluenette looked around and considered. The day wasn't really all that great. The grounds were flooded with unattractive muck from the rain, and the overcast skies made the morning downright dreary.

But if Rei had chosen to put on her rose tinted glasses that day, Ami wasn't going to argue the semantics and spoil a good thing.

"I suppose it is," she remarked agreeably, "You seem to be in high spirits this morning."

"Oh I am. Isn't life just a wonderful thing?"

A blue eyebrow rose for a moment. "Remind me later to ask you what's gotten into you."

Rei just laughed good naturedly. "Gotten into me? Can't I just be in a good mood?"

_Statistically no._ But Ami held herself back from pointing that out. Instead she replied, "I didn't say that. But I did say, we can talk about that later. I actually want to discuss something a bit more pressing at the moment."

"Sure thing, what's on your mind?"

"Rei-chan..." started Ami. She paused, carefully considering her next words. "I've noticed that you and Mako-chan have been fighting lately..."

"Ami-chan, we-"

"No, no. Just let me finish," interrupted Ami. She took a deep breath before continuing, "I don't know what exactly it's about, but I can tell that Mako-chan is really hurting over it. And knowing her, she wants to talk about it and is too afraid to make the first move because she probably thinks you won't talk to her, which is a reasonable assumption given your past record of ignoring Usagi-chan. Quite frankly, you can be downright stubborn sometimes. So, I came to ask you if you'll just go speak to her and straighten things out. Again, I don't know what's wrong, but you two can't go on like this. You were so close before and now you're barely speaking, and I can't come up with a logical scenario that could have occurred in the past month that is worth you being angry with her for this long."

Ami took another deep breath. The words had sputtered out of her in a long rapid sequence. Rei waited patiently with her arms crossed. "Are you done?"

The bluenette bowed her head apologetically. "I know you probably didn't want to hear all that, Rei-chan. Please don't be mad."

Rei's blank expression cracked, as she rolled her eyes. "Ami-chan. I'm not mad. In fact you're right."

The genius hadn't been expecting that reaction. It took her aback slightly. "I am?"

"Mako-chan and I are actually supposed to have a long talk, when she gets out of work later today."

"Really?"

"Really. It may take all evening, but I'm sure she'll make it up to me," smirked Rei knowingly.

Ami exhaled in relief. "I'm glad that you're willing to talk. I was getting worried that you wouldn't kiss and make up before your birthday."

"Kiss and make up we shall," said Rei, with a large grin, "I'm sure it'll be the best birthday I've had in ages."

The pair turned, hearing the sound of another approaching up the shrine steps. Aino Minako strode towards them with a glint in her eye.

"Rei-chan, we need to talk," she spoke authoritatively. Then, she glanced to the left and added, "Hey Ami-chan."

"Ohayo," replied the bluenette.

"I told Mako-chan yesterday to come over here and work things out with you," revealed Minako, "She'll probably be here later today, so I'm here to _demand_ you speak with her when that happens."

In a cuter voice, she thew in a, "Pleeeease?"

"You make such a convincing case, Mina-chan," replied Rei dryly, "I guess I _have_ to now."

"Oh, come on!" prodded Minako, "Be a pal. You and Mako-chan have obviously been fighting. It's been way longer than enough, so just forgive her already?"

Rei could tell that Minako was bracing herself for an argument. So, she opened her mouth to yell and took an imposing step forward. And then...

She shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "Alright."

The blonde blinked. "What?"

"I said, 'alright.'"

"Yeah. I heard that, but isn't this the part where we argue until you get mad enough to kick me out?"

"Nah. I'm in too much of a good mood."

Minako looked to Ami confusedly. The bluenette gave her another shrug. The shrine maiden returned to her cheerful sweeping.

"Hmm, bizarro robot Rei-chan is pretty agreeable," said Minako. She turned to Ami, "Can we keep her?" She had to duck a broom swing. "Never mind. That's the real one."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what's got you in such a good mood today?" asked Ami.

Rei smiled and sighed, as if caught in a pleasant memory. She caught herself and brushed the question off. "It's my birthday soon. Wouldn't you be excited too?"

Minako's eyes narrowed suspiciously. The whole agreeable happy-go-lucky Rei thing reeked of secrecy. But what was she hiding?

"I suppose so," acknowledged Ami. It seemed logical and she didn't have a reason not to believe it. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was time to be heading off to class. "I have to be going now. Thank you for agreeing to speak with Mako-chan later. I'll be glad to see the end to this whole argument."

"What _was_ the argument about anyway?" asked Minako.

Rei pretended not to hear the question. "Bye, Ami-chan, I'll give you a call tomorrow."

The bluenette bowed. "Goodbye, Rei-chan. Minako-chan."

"Yeah, see you later," mumbled the blonde. She turned back to the shrine maiden expectantly. "So?"

"So, what?"

Exasperation obvious, Minako prodded. "So, what were you and Mako-chan fighting about?"

"That's between the two of us," replied Rei simply.

Minako studied her friend's blank and unassuming face. Rei was on guard this time.

The shrine maiden casually moved to sweep the porch, as if to escape the direct gaze. Minako followed, refusing to back down, and just as casually sat on the porch railing.

"Oh, come on. Friends talk to each other. We're friends, aren't we?"

The tactic induced an eye-roll. "Nice try, but that 'friendship' guilt trip won't work on me."

"Right, I forgot that only works on Mako-chan and Usagi-chan," chuckled Minako. She sobered quickly, "But all the same, I don't buy that 'I'm just excited about my birthday' crockpot."

She met Minako's inquisitive stare, with an all too innocent shrug. "I'm not allowed to be excited?"

"No, you're allowed. But this is something else…" Minako couldn't quite put to words what she was trying to get at. Ocean eyes narrowed and tried to focus. She leaned in closer and closer. "It's something…"

The blonde gasped, as she leaned too far and fell forwards off the railing. She met the cold wooden floorboards with a painful thud.

Rei sprung towards her friend. "Mina-chan! Are you okay?"

"Ughhh..." Minako's head lolled and she rolled over.

She had hit her nose pretty hard. Not like 'smacked by a youma' kind of hard, more like 'nailed by a spiking volleyball' kind of hard. She refocused on Rei's concerned face and finally completed the dramatic gasp that had been so painfully interrupted.

Right before she lost her balance, without realizing it, she had activated her Venus powers. And they told her exactly what she needed to know.

The shrine maiden's aura was glowing. A warm, slowly pulsing red.

Rei didn't just have a crush on Makoto anymore. Something changed. And now she was head over heels.

"NghhI'm awwight," Minako mumbled.

"I swear you and that Odango-atama have to be related," muttered Rei, as she helped her felled companion into a sitting position.

Minako continued to stare. Rei's good mood. Her strange willingness to talk to Makoto. It was all so suddenly clear.

"How do you feel, Mina-chan? Lightheaded? Do you feel like you're going to pass out?"

The Love Goddess shook her head quickly and switched off her other sight. She let out a cheshire cat grin and said, "Everything's wonderful, Rei-chan. I feel fine, you feel fine. We're all feeling fine."

"Uhh…Riiight…" Rei's growing concern was clear. "I'm going to go get you some ice. Keep your head elevated. I promise I'll be right back."

When Rei shuffled into the shrine, and Minako threw her arms in the air excitedly. Makoto must have followed her advice and told Rei how she felt. She hadn't expected the brunette to go right away, but then again Makoto was the impulsive sort. It seemed to have worked out, all the same.

She was right the whole time. She really _was_ the Goddess of Love. The overwhelming rush of victory drowned out the throbbing ache of her nose. She couldn't wait to tell Ami about Rei and Makoto's secret love affair.

"Ohayo!" called a voice cheerfully from behind her. She turned and saw the approach of a smiling odango haired blonde.

Minako greeted her princess with a jovial wave.

"Woah!" exclaimed Usagi, rushing forward in concern, "Mina-chan! Oh my god! What happened to your face? Was there a youma or something?"

Minako laughed good naturedly, "Youma? Haha. No no, I had a little accident. Just me being clumsy. It's nothing."

"Ano…Your nose is bleeding though. Doesn't it hurt a lot?"

"It is?" Minako touched her face and looked at down. Sure enough, there was blood on her fingertips.

Rei returned with a moist towel and pack of ice. She quickly began cleaning the affected area. Minako barely flinched. The shrine maiden drew her hand back and stared at the blonde. She and Usagi exchanged the look of confusion.

"What?" asked Minako, "I told you. I feel fine."

"Well, apparently you have a incredibly high threshold for pain," remarked Rei, "Because if you think you're okay, you might want to check a mirror."

"What are you talking about?"

Usagi took the opportunity to reach into her purse for a compact. She popped it open and handed it to their injured friend.

"My face!" screeched Minako. Her black and blue nose was smeared with crimson streaks. It was disgustingly colorful. She had definitely crossed the 'hit by a volleyball' mark into 'smashed with a mallet' territory. "Oh no! I have an audition tomorrow!"

"Audition?" echoed Rei preposterously, "Minako-chan, that's not something you should be concerned about right now. You need to go to the emergency room and get this checked out."

"Emergency room?" repeated Minako. She grimaced. "Gross, I don't like hospitals!"

"So what? You need to have this looked at."

"Can't she just have Ami-chan look at it?" asked Usagi.

"Yeah, I don't want to go to the hospital," agreed Minako vehemently.

"Are you two kidding me? Minako-chan needs to go to a doctor."

"Ami-chan is a doctor," pointed out Usagi.

"She's still in training," argued Rei.

"So? She's a genius. She can patch me up in no time." Minako insisted.

They were actually right. Ami could probably take care of this easily. But it just seemed more appropriate to Rei to force the clumsy idiot go to a more official doctor. "It might be broken," she observed, "If it is, Ami-chan will still need medical supplies to set a cast. You'll have to go to a hospital anyway."

"Oh god. A nose cast?" lamented Minako in horror.

"It doesn't look broken," said Usagi, looming over Minako's face. She poked her friend's nose, who squealed in surprise. "Oops, sorry."

Minako touched her face gingerly. "Well, I'd still rather have Ami-chan than some stranger doctor. She's out of class in an hour and a half, so I'll just wait for her."

"You shouldn't leave this for an hour and a half!"

"Rei-chan, I said I felt fine," repeated Minako, "Give me that pack of ice, and I'll wait. If it's that bad, I'll let Ami-chan make me go to the hospital. I swear, I barely feel a thing. Hey, hand me that towel."

Rei threw the towel at the woman frustratedly, but the blonde merely caught it, remaining unfazed. Minako held up the mirror and started dabbing the moist cloth against the blood.

She scrutinized her face and concluded, "Hey, it's not as bad as it looked."

Usagi blinked and inspected the newly cleaned area. "Oh wow, you're right. It's like it wiped right off."

Rei had to admit, the swelling miraculously went down in the matter of minutes that they argued. The bleeding had stopped and the black and blue didn't seem so…well, black and blue.

"Alright, alright, it's not as bad as I thought it was," she conceded irritably, "But you still need to see Ami-chan about this."

"Of course!" grinned Minako, "In fact, I'll just head back to our apartment and wait for her right now."

"Our apartment?" questioned Rei.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" asked Minako melodramatically, "I'm moving in with Ami-chan!"

"Oh cool!" exclaimed Usagi, "Now I can visit both of you at the same time! When Ami-chan is too busy, you'll be there anyway to have fun!"

Rei arched an eyebrow. Having Minako and Usagi around all the time sounded disturbingly annoying. Hell, their blondness was annoying enough, at the current moment - much less _all_ the time. "Are you _sure_ she agreed to this?"

"It was her idea," shrugged Minako, "You know, 'blah blah blah rent and finances and spreading of mutual responsibility yak yak.' She had a whole slide presentation with spreadsheets and charts prepared, but I know…She won't admit it outright, but she just totally missed me!"

Rei stared at the laughing blondes, as if they had both simultaneously sprouted additional heads out of their shoulders. Usagi turned to her and said, "Wouldn't it be cool if you and Mako-chan moved in together?"

The suggestion sent Rei into a nervous coughing fit. Minako took immediate notice of this.

"What? It's not like you haven't already lived together," pointed out Usagi. "What's the difference?"

"Yeah," prodded Minako slyly, "Has something changed since then?"

Rei didn't like the way Minako was looking at her, but couldn't immediately come up with a good retort. "No. Nothing has changed."

"Really? I thought you too made up already!" said Usagi.

Rei _definitely_ didn't like the way Minako was looking at her now. She looked frantically for an escape route. She wasn't ready to talk about any of this yet. Not until she talked to Makoto.

"You talked to Mako-chan?" gasped Minako in delight.

"Yeah, that's why I came over," said Usagi, "I wanted to return Rei-chan's umbrella and see how it went."

Just as Minako was about to leap out of her seat dramatically, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey, everyone. What's going on?"

She turned to find Makoto standing in her work uniform, holding a bag of leftovers and a small bundle of flowers.

"Aww, food and flowers for me?" gushed Usagi, "You shouldn't have, Mako-chan!"

The brunette laughed. "The flowers are actually for Rei-chan. But there's enough food in here for you too, Usagi-chan." With a shy, half smile, she handed the modest bouquet to Rei. "They're not Casablanca lilies or anything, but they made me think of you."

"Thank you, Mako-chan," said Rei, who at that point was trying to pretend with great effort she wasn't blushing profusely, "You shouldn't have."

"So you _did_ make up last night!" said Usagi, enthusiastically ruffling through the bag of leftovers.

"Last night, huh?" repeated Minako scandalously.

"Well, yeah, Mina-chan," nodded Makoto, missing the blonde's implying tone. "You told me to go talk to her yesterday, so I did that a couple hours later. And we patched things up just fine, promise."

"So, _that's_ why you've been so agreeable this morning!" exclaimed Minako at Rei. The shrine maiden ignored her and left to find a vase.

"Mina-chan?" questioned Makoto, "What happened to your face?"

"I fell. It's nothing. Ami-chan will look at it later. Whatever." Minako brushed it off quickly. So unimportant. "Spill! What happened last night?"

It took Makoto a moment to realize that she was being cornered by the two blondes. They moved forward in anticipation. Two wide pairs of expectant blue eyes. It was dangerous combination. "Um…"

"Hey! You two leave her alone," reprimanded Rei, reappearing from inside, "I said we needed to talk and I meant it. Now shoo!"

Minako frowned. "Just like that? You're kicking us out?"

"Can I take some of the food?" asked Usagi, staring longingly at the bag.

"Mina-chan, don't make me say it twice," glowered Rei.

Minako looked to Makoto imploringly. The brunette just shrugged.

"But I'm injured!" whined Minako.

"Usagi-chan, you can have the whole bag, if you get Minako-chan out of my sight immediately," declared the impatient shrine maiden.

Usagi whooped approvingly and snatched the bag. She yanked Minako's arm and pulled her off.

"Have a good chat!" called the odango haired blonde, as she dragged a protesting Minako towards the steps.

Makoto chuckled, as the sounds of objection faded into the distance. "Well, there goes our lunch. Shall I make us something?"

Rei opened the door and glanced at the fighter meaningfully. "Forget the food."

Makoto checked her watch, oblivious to the look. "Aren't you hungry?"

Rei smiled, finding Makoto's blockheadedness incredibly cute. She decided to be a bit more direct.

"Yes," she answered plainly. Before the brunette could respond, the raven haired vixen shoved her inside. As soon as Makoto's back hit the wall, Rei kicked the door closed.

A distance away, in the bushes, crouched two blondes.

"Damn," cursed Minako at the closed door.

Usagi was less disappointed, as she snacked on a roll greedily. "I told you they weren't going to talk outside. And even if they were, you suck at reading lips."

Minako cackled deviously. She could read Rei's lips on Makoto's lips plain as day. But apparently the shrine maiden had the sense to wait till they got inside.

"What are you laughing about?" mumbled Usagi, through a mouth full of bread.

"Usagi-chan...have I ever told you about love waves?"


	15. Chapter 15 - The Healing

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Fifteen - The Healing

_Should we be worried? Isn't this good news?_

continue.

* * *

Needless to say, Makoto forgot about lunch quite quickly. The fire of the raven haired woman's kisses engulfed her senses and shut down any part of her brain that was hungry for anything else than more Rei. The same hands that had shoved her against the wall were now running fervently through her chestnut hair. Makoto's own fingers found themselves trailing the small of the shrine maiden's back.

The weight of Rei pressed up against her body served as an almost insurmountable distraction. It was incredible that this was the same woman who put the brakes on their kisses the night before. Where had this aggressive temptress come from, all of a sudden?

It had been several moments before the fighter could drum up the sense to say something. She broke the contact briefly and was about to speak. But Rei just took that as a sign and moved her mouth up and down Makoto's neck.

The brunette groaned at the gentle bites, but she managed to focus her thoughts into speech. "Rei-chan…"

"What?" came the muffled voice buried in the nape of her neck.

"We need to..." Makoto lost her train of thought, as the sound of Rei's shallow breathing hit her ear. The raven haired vixen started nibbling on her ear lobe.

It took sheer force of will to grab the firebrand by the shoulders and ease her away. The irritation in those lovely amethyst eyes was obvious. The interruption was apparently unappreciated, but Makoto pressed on and finished her brief statement. "Talk. We need to talk."

"I thought we _were_ talking," said the amused shrine maiden.

Makoto's face colored a light pink and she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Come on, you know what I mean."

Rei smirked and gave Makoto a quick peck on the nose. "I know. It's just you're cute when you're all embarrassed." She took the brunette by the hand and led her into the other room.

The fighter took a deep breath. She knew Rei could be forceful, but not like that. It was disturbingly sexy...And completely beside the point! She shook her head rapidly and tried to ease her boiling blood. They had to talk.

They sat down on the couch, ready to speak. The brunette was grateful for the slight distance between the two of them. Because if Rei started up again, Makoto didn't know if she had the willpower left to stop.

"I'm not sure where to start," admitted Makoto.

Rei shrugged and rested her head on Makoto's shoulder. "Me neither," she replied.

Instinctively, the fighter's long arm wrapped around her. So much for the slight distance.

"It's still a little weird to think of, but this whole thing. This...well…'us.' This doesn't feel wrong." Makoto pressed her cheek against Rei's crown.

She leaned back into the touch, whispering, "It sucks that we didn't talk about it sooner."

"Yeah, but I never knew what to say," admitted Makoto, "I wasn't even sure what it was we were fighting about. I just knew you were mad at me."

"I'm sorry, Mako." Rei knew that she didn't always handle things in the best way, especially when confused about her feelings. She tried to explain herself. "I developed a huge crush on one of my best friends. That's not something that I've ever had to deal with before."

Makoto understood the feeling perfectly. "I know what you mean. It's not as if I've never had a crush before. I know the signs…But you're not just some guy I met on the street. You're not a nameless waiter, or a cute skating instructor, or anything like my Sempai. I couldn't just forget about it."

The butterflies in her stomach after a smile shot her way, the quickening in her chest at the slightest touch, the maddening urges to close all distance…She had been battling her instincts every step of the way.

"When did you realize?" wondered Rei quietly. The question hadn't occurred to her at first, but now that things were falling into place, she had to wonder. How long had they kept themselves waiting?

"Realize what? That I really liked you?"

Rei laced their fingers together. How perfectly her hand seemed to fit. "Yeah."

"Hmm…let's see…" pondered Makoto. She wasn't entirely sure when it had started. It could have been weeks before she recognized what was going on, much less fully acknowledge it.

Her friends were all naturally pretty. She knew that. They had always been attractive, but she had never been attracted to them. There was a difference and she never expected that she'd cross that line. But at some point, the line blurred. Rei became more than just beautiful. She became desirable. When was it?

The fighter lost herself in a vivid memory of Sailor Mars encompassed in flames. Her skin held a captivating glow that etched itself in Makoto's mind.

"That night we were in Mamoru-san's apartment," recalled Makoto softly, "You became Sailor Mars before my eyes, and I had realized that I had never really seen it before. I was either busy with my own henshin, or we showed up at different times. But I'd never really stood by and watched you like that."

"And what did you see?"

Makoto looked down at their clasped hands. "You." Her fingers squeezed ever so slightly. "It was…" She struggled for a moment. "-like I was seeing you for the first time."

A smile grew on Rei's face, as she playfully teased, "Does that line work on all the girls?"

Makoto wished she was better at explaining herself, but laughed all that same. "I haven't used it before, you'll have to tell me. Is it working?"

"Maybe."

"I'll take it." Makoto softly pressed her lips against Rei's temple and was rewarded with a contended sigh. "I didn't realize it at the time, but I think that's when things might have changed for me. When I saw you meditating by the Great Flame later that same night, you were just so…" What was the word? Makoto trailed off.

"So what?"

"Mesmerizing," decided Makoto. She never considered herself great with words. But no, that was exactly it. Mesmerizing.

The shrine maiden bit her lip embarrassedly. "Sweet talker."

Makoto found herself strangely pleased by the tinge of pink gracing Rei's cheeks. Maybe that's why Haruka enjoyed flirting with them so much. She lowered her voice ever so slightly and tried, "Can you blame me? You look incredible by firelight."

Rei had always found Makoto's starry eyed romanticism rather silly. Saccharine mushiness normally garnered eye rolls or sarcastic remarks from the shrine maiden. But she wasn't laughing anymore. A warmth that was becoming more and more familiar blossomed in her chest.

"You're so corny sometimes," she stammered in spite of her herself.

The emerald eyed woman couldn't help, but grin in self satisfaction. "I can stop if you want," she offered, knowingly.

Rei cleared her throat. "I like a little corniness." She threw in a little sappiness of her own, "As long as it's from you."

Makoto sighed, unabashedly enjoying the cheesy affection. She wished they could have been doing this sooner. She could have certainly done without the weeks of fighting and uncertainty. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come around."

"Stop apologizing," said Rei, "Besides, I'm to blame for this too. Maybe even more so."

Makoto cocked her head. "Why do you say that?"

"I've known for a while," revealed Rei. She closed her eyes, catching glimpses of Makoto in her memory. The fighter valiantly defending her. The chef preparing their meals while smiling that adorable smile. The rock of comfort and strength, whisking her away from her nightmares. "That morning you kissed me. That's when things changed for me. It didn't take long for me to figure it out."

She rested her head against Makoto's chest. The sound of a heartbeat picking up slightly thumped faintly in her ear.

"Rei-chan, can I ask you something that might sound weirdly specific?"

"What is it?"

Makoto took her mind back to the place that puzzled her most over the last month.

"That night," Makoto hesitated, "When you beat that youma, I mean." She could see those endless amethyst eyes in her memory, desperate to tell her something.

The firebrand cringed. It had been a painful night for them both. Seeing the fighter get hurt by a monster and saving her, only to turn around and hurt her even more with words. Had she been stronger-

"You said, 'I did it for you,'" recalled Makoto, "And you were going to say something else, but Usagi-chan showed up."

Realization rushed to Rei's brain. She had assumed that Makoto wanted to talk about their argument.

But that moment...

It was the moment where she might have actually said what was in her heart. She had been wracking her brain the next few days trying to figure out for herself what it could have been.

"I don't know what I was going to say," admitted Rei. The words were on the verge of spilling out of her mouth.

"Oh." Makoto found herself disappointed. She put so much emphasis and anguish into that one memory for nothing. She cleared her throat, in slight embarrassment, "Never mind then. I mean, I just thought it might have been important, that's all."

Rei inhaled slowly, trying to reclaim the instance, trying to piece together what would have been. But while the exact words weren't there to be found, she could still feel them.

"It was," affirmed Rei, meeting Makoto's eyes once more. Soft fingers trailed the fighter's cheekbone.

The brunette swallowed hard. The intense gaze became reminiscent of that single vulnerable moment.

"I was going to say something along the lines of-" Rei leaned forward, catching Makoto's lips in a sweet kiss. Emerald eyes fluttered shut. When they parted for air, the shrine maiden spoke again, "Makoto, I can't stand the thought of being without you."

Makoto released the breath she didn't know she was holding. "I had been hoping you were going to say something like that."

Another brush of lips and the next thing they both knew, they were falling again. Rei's back gently eased onto the couch, as Makoto's attentions trailed down her neckline. She marveled at the warmth and weight of the body atop her own and untied Makoto's hairband. Luxurious chestnut locks streamed down upon them both. Rei closed her eyes and began to lose herself in the sensation of the fighter's kisses.

Then, a shrill cry came from both of their wrist watches.

They paused for a second. Rei spoke quickly, "Just ignore it."

"Trust me, I want to," sighed Makoto, "But it could be an emergency."

Rei made no attempt to mask her irritation. There had better be at least seven youma. Makoto shifted gingerly off the tempestuous firebrand and the latter snapped into the communicator screen. "What is it!"

Usagi's face appeared on the screen. She spoke hesitantly, "Uh…Hi, Rei-chan. You know, I'm really sorry to bother you right now. But…"

"But what?" she growled through gritted teeth.

"Well, something's wrong with Mina-chan."

"Tell me something I don't already know," barked Rei in annoyance.

Makoto opened her watch. "Is she in danger? Or hurt?"

"No, she's not hurt. She's okay, but...Actually, it's kind of hard to explain. Ami-chan's class got cancelled, so she's here, and she wants you to come over."

"Right now?" groaned Rei.

Usagi waved her hands agitatedly. "I swear it wasn't my idea! Mina-chan and I insisted that you two were busy, but she says she needs you now."

"Where is Ami-chan?" asked Makoto.

"She's busy with Minako-chan right now. Could you just come over?"

"Sure thing, Usagi-chan," replied Makoto gently, "We'll be over right away."

Usagi's nervous face disappeared with a rapid, "Okaythanksbye."

Rei threw her watch across the room. "Goddammit, this better be good!"

Makoto ran a hand through her hair and began to tie it back up. "I'm going to agree with you on that one. I still want to talk."

Noticing the sly expression overtake the firebrand's face, Makoto spoke quickly, "And no, what we were just doing doesn't count as talking."

"Then, what does it count as?"

"Unintended break time."

"Well, I'm not not finished with my break yet," said Rei, moving in to close the distance.

Makoto groaned and rose with great effort before she lost her head. She looked down at Rei's irritated and disappointed expression and had the sudden urge to give Minako a whack to the head for causing whatever the interruption was.

"Come on, let's go," sighed Makoto heavily.

* * *

The pair arrived at Ami's apartment to find Minako being poked and prodded like a science experiment. She mouthed 'Help Me' toward the door, much to Rei's immediate satisfaction.

"I said hold still, Mina-chan," reprimanded Ami, as she typed more into her new Mercury computer.

"Yeah, we're here, what's going on?" asked Makoto, flopping on the couch next to Usagi, wanting to get to the point as quickly as possible.

"Minako-chan is perfectly fine," said Usagi quietly.

"Well, that's swell," remarked Makoto nonchalantly, "The problem with that is?"

"Ami-chan says that she shouldn't be," replied the princess.

"What do you mean, she shouldn't be? She's-" Rei stopped herself, as the realization swept over her. "Minako-chan…your face." Rei stepped forward and gazed at the blonde's pristine features. "It's healed?"

"I-" started Minako, before being silenced by Ami. She pouted, but shut her mouth.

"I got home early due to my class being canceled and found these two playing video games," recounted Ami, continuing to punch away at her palmtop computer, "They told me about Minako-chan's accident. She said she felt fine, but I wanted to check anyway. A straightforward visual inspection indicates that nothing had happened at all."

"But I told her that Mina-chan's face was bleeding pretty hard when I saw it," added Usagi.

"I remember," marveled an astonished Rei, "It doesn't look like anything now."

"I had my suspicions based on the nature of the fall, so I did a few scans." Ami turned her screen towards her teammates. A stream of data, the likes of which only one of them could actually comprehend, filled in next to a picture of Sailor Venus. Ami was trying to make the point that Minako's vitals all appeared to be strong, but was met with a line of perplexed stares.

She flipped to the next screen, which zoomed in on what looked like an X-ray of Minako's skull.

"Look at this line here." Ami pointed toward the nose. "It's a fracture. Or what's left of one. It's almost healed."

The three Senshi squinted at the small screen, while Minako sat quietly, more than slightly perturbed that they were talking about her like she wasn't in the room. Boy, did she hate that.

"Ami-chan, can I move yet?" she mumbled unhappily.

"Yes, you can move."

Minako released a sigh of relief. "So, my nose is all great. Hooray hooray, right? I don't have to wear a stupid nose cast. You're acting like something bad's happened."

"Not bad," disagreed Ami, "Just strange. Actually, more than strange. Mina-chan, by all rights and purposes, you should be at the hospital getting this all patched up. It's completely unnatural to recover from a broken nose this quickly. No lasting bruising? A fracture that is mostly healed within a few hours? It has to be some sort of magical intervention."

"We've always healed kinda fast with our Senshi powers," pointed out Makoto.

"Kinda fast, but none of us have ever healed _that_ fast," observed Rei.

Usagi pondered this, before slowly deducing, "So…That means Minako-chan has super healing now?"

"She might. I'm honestly not sure how to tell, unless we…" Ami trailed off. She paused and tried to think of a way to say 'Experiment' without making Minako sound like a lab rat.

"Unless we what?" questioned Usagi.

Ami cleared her throat and spoke hesitantly, "Test the theory."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of this…" Minako tensed.

Rei cocked her head inquisitively. "Are you implying that we should purposely harm Minako-chan and see how fast she heals?"

The blonde let a out an undignified squeal, "I don't like that plan!"

"Just a small cut, Mina-chan," assured Ami, "We'll start small. "It'll be like a shot. Quick and easy."

"A shot?" shrieked Minako, "But I hate needles!"

Ami sighed. "Okay, not like a shot. Like a…" She trailed off trying to think more along Minako's lines. Tweezing your eyebrows? No. Burning yourself with a curling iron? No… "Like nicking yourself by accident shaving?"

Minako's frown remained.

"Oh come on, you big baby, just do it," urged Makoto boredly.

"Yeah, you've been tossed around twenty times harder by youma, and Ami-chan's not even trying to kill you," mentioned Rei.

"It's in the interest of science?" added Ami, with pleading eyes.

"Well, if it's in the interest of science, then of course, cut me open," muttered the blonde unhappily. She closed her eyes and held out her hand melodramatically. "Fine! Make it quick!"

Ami retrieved an alcohol swab and scalpel and took Minako's hand. After sanitizing the skin, she drug the blade with precise control along the blonde's palm. Rei and Makoto winced and Usagi almost gagged at the sight of the blood.

"I said, 'make it quick,'" repeated Minako, eyelids still clenched shut, "You can go ahead now."

The bluenette looked at her strangely. "It…it's done. You didn't feel that?"

The ocean eyes popped open and looked in surprise at a blood stained hand. "I felt you touching it and everything, but no pain. Man, you're really good at that, Ami-chan."

"That should have at least stung a little, if not horribly," answered a slightly bewildered Ami. She started immediately tending to the wound, blotting away the blood, and swabbing it with antiseptic. Minako didn't shift at all.

Upon removing the blood, Ami found an already closed wound. Her suspicions had been confirmed. "It's already healing. Just like we thought."

Rei squinted at the redden gauze. "All that blood, and she's already fine?"

"And you didn't even flinch," noted Makoto, impressed, "I take back the 'big baby' comment."

"That's right!" declared Minako, "I'm tougher than I look!"

"How does your hand feel?" asked Ami.

Minako waved her fingers around, squeezed her palm, and shrugged. "Fine, just fine. So, I guess that means I'm a super healing freak then?"

"As far as incisions and broken noses go, apparently," concluded Ami, "I'm not sure how far this healing goes though, so don't jump in front of any bullets any time soon."

"Pfft, I'm not _crazy_, Ami-chan!" said Minako.

"Yes, you are," disagreed Rei quickly, "But that's beside the point. I want to know, does this mean that we're all going to heal an an extraordinary rate, or is it just Mina-chan?"

Makoto's face lit up. She hadn't yet considered such an exciting notion. "Oh hell yeah! I wanna try it! Gimme that scalpel!"

"Gross, Mako-chan!" groaned Usagi, "I don't want to watch that again!"

"I don't know, Mako-chan…" hesitated Ami.

"Oh come on, what's the worst that could happen? I get left with a little cut on my hand? Oh wait! I already have a cut on my hand!" Makoto's eyes flew to the bandage on her finger. She ripped it off. There was nothing there.

"Awesome!" she blurted out excitedly. "I sliced my finger kinda bad cutting eel earlier at work today! See that? The cut is gone! We've got new super powers! Alright!"

"Slow down," said Ami, "We're not sure what this all means."

"What it means? It means that I don't have to worry about a youma ruining an audition ever again!" Minako, referring to that unfortunate time when some unsightly bruises on her legs cost her a swimsuit ad.

"Yes, but I still think we ought to be cautious," interrupted Ami, "Luna and Artemis said the youma were going to get a lot tougher from here on out. And that's what worries me about this healing business. Are we really going to need to be _this_ powerful to beat them?"

"You're right," mused Rei, "We're getting so much power, all at once. It seems almost…excessive."

"Have you been feeling any weird energies lately, Rei-chan?" asked Minako, who always managed to slip in and out of business mode with unparalleled ease.

"Lately?" Rei thought about it. She had been seeing nothing in the flames, but images of Makoto lately. Her personal problems had been completely clouding the bigger picture. "No, nothing lately."

"Has anyone noticed anything strange going on recently?" repeated Minako, to the rest of the group.

The Senshi shook their heads collectively. Minako continued, "Then, I suppose we'll have to just carry on with the training and wait for the next wave of youma to head our way. I will say this, now that I know we can take harder hits, I'm going to start throwing more power your ways during our sessions. We all should. I know we've all been holding back because we're afraid of hurting each other, but perhaps we should take this as a sign to pull the envelope."

"That's part of why I wanted to know," admitted Rei, "I'm not just holding back for all of you. I'm not sure how far I can handle going yet."

"That's true," agreed Makoto, "I took it way too far one night. I gave way more than necessary and when I woke up, I could barely keep standing, much less conjure up a spark. I worry sometimes that any more would have killed me."

Rei felt a pit drop in her stomach, as she thought of the night that Makoto saved her from the youma. They hadn't really talked about it yet, but the electricity in the fighter's eyes still played in her memories. The sheer power unleashed in a single blast of lightning was terrifying. It more than decimated the youma, but more alarmingly, it almost decimated the fighter's body.

"That's why we need to continue testing our limits," affirmed Minako, "I have a feeling that our healing is going to take care of a lot more than cuts and broken noses. But as Ami-chan just taught us, we won't know until we find out."

"Just don't go crazy," pleaded Usagi, "I don't like seeing you guys hurt. Even if you do heal up fast."

"You sure?" asked Rei with a smirk, "I mean, I for one would love to do more experiments on Minako-chan."

"You can do them on me!" offered Makoto, all too ready to try her powers out.

Rei glared at the eager brunette. "One: that was a joke. And two: No."

"Speaking of experimenting with Mako-chan, how did your 'talk' go?" asked Minako, trying hard not to waggle her eyebrows. The question drew a curious look from Ami and an unrestrained giggle from Usagi.

"Oh, that's right, I'm sorry for interrupting," apologized Ami, with a bow, "Usagi-chan was telling me that you two were having your talk, but I figured this was more pressing."

"It's fine," said Rei flatly, eyeing Minako suspiciously. She didn't like the way Usagi was trying to contain herself either. "But we weren't finished. So, if there's nothing else, we're going to return to the shrine."

"I'm glad to hear that it's going well," said Ami, "And I suppose we've discussed the all the necessary business. I'll update you all with anything else I find. Have a good afternoon."

"Oh come on, we can still experiment," suggested Makoto excitedly. Rei was already heading for the door, however. "Minako-chan can hit me with a crescent beam, and we'll see what happens or something! Or Usagi-chan can stab me with a knife. Or Ami-chan can-"

"Makoto!" snapped Rei sharply, "We're going."

Makoto was quickly silenced and followed without another word about experiments. "Bye, everybody."

As soon as the door shut behind the pair, two blondes began cackling uncontrollably.

"Wow, Rei-chan's got her whipped already! Hahaha!" laughed Usagi.

"I know, isn't it great?" sputtered out Minako, trying to catch her breath.

Ami sighed, placing her head in her hands. "Oh, not you too, Usagi-chan."

"But it's totally true, Mina-chan says so!" insisted Usagi between giggles, "And she's the Goddess of Love."

Slender fingers parted, framing exasperated blue eyes. She couldn't believe that Usagi was buying into all of Minako's nonsense.

"They're so cute!" gushed their princess.

Actually, on second thought, she could.

"Usagi-chan, since when has Mina-chan ever been right about these things?" reminded Ami, prepared to cite numerous incidents to back up her assertion. Trying to set her up with one of her lab partners in front of his boyfriend stuck out in her mind.

Minako smirked. "Since now, Ami-chan. Since now."

The Goddess of Love could tell the genius wasn't convinced in the slightest. So, it was time to reveal her hand in the upper deck, or upper hand of aces in her sleeve - she could never remember which one it was.

"I guess while the topic of new Senshi powers is still fresh, I have a secret to tell you, my dear Ami-chan."


	16. Chapter 16 - The Return

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Sixteen - The Return

_Back with a vengeance. _

continue.

* * *

"You sure we can't at least, I dunno, throw a brick at me or something?" asked Makoto, as they walked down the street away from Ami and Minako's apartment.

"Mako-chan, please," entreated Rei in exasperation, "Can we get off the topic of injuring you? It's a little unsettling."

"Sorry, I'm just kind of excited," admitted the brunette, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. She paused and tried to come up with a different topic. "Hey, are you hungry?"

It hadn't been long ago that the pair had skipped their last meal in favor of more passionate pursuits. "I suppose I am," said the shrine maiden.

"Cool, can I buy you dinner?" asked Makoto eagerly.

"I've got money," shrugged Rei. She knew exactly what Makoto was getting at, but was starting to enjoy watching the girl get flustered.

"Oh no, I'm not implying that- Well...it's just that. I don't know. You're like-my girlfriend or something now. So, I want to do nice stuff for you." Makoto mumbled bashfully. She frowned suddenly and blurted out, "Wait…you're my girlfriend, right?"

The raven haired woman laughed, pleased to have rendered the desired effect. "Yes, Mako. I believe that this all makes me your new girlfriend."

A combination of victory and delight swept across Makoto's features. Why an amazing woman like Rei would have ever said yes to her, she had no idea. But it made her smile like she won the damn lottery.

"It's a little weird to say at first, but I like that. So, can I buy you dinner?"

"Only if you're asking me out on a date," smiled Rei back, enjoying the warmth that was becoming more and more familiar.

"It would be an honor-" Makoto started to say. Her words were cut short by a sudden force blasting her into a tree.

"Makoto!" shouted Rei in surprise. She had barely a moment to register a large claw swiping at her face. With quick Senshi reflexes, she managed to side step the impact. She leapt further backwards to get some distance from their assailant, but the gap was quickly closed.

Makoto groaned, as she rubbed the dirt from her eyes. Her vision was still hazy, but she finally saw it. A hulking gray beast was trading blows with Rei, not far from where she had just been standing.

The fighter stumbled painfully to her feet. She didn't know how she could have gone without seeing such a large aggressor before it pummeled her. How did it get close enough to hit her like that?

Her question was answered, when a blast of energy came from her left side, knocking her into a bench and shattering it to pieces. She looked up again, once the dust cleared, and caught sight of a pair of hideous glowing eyes a short reach away.

It seemed to be hiding somehow, but there was no mistaking. There was more than one youma.

Rei was holding the slate skinned monster back effectively, but neither had been gaining the upper hand. She wanted to rush to Makoto's side, but found herself with her hands full. Constantly dodging the beast's blows wasn't leaving her with enough time or distance to launch a manageable attack.

"Mako-chan!" shouted Rei, desperately evading another hit, "Are you alright?"

Makoto rolled quickly over splintering wooden debris, as another blast came flying toward her.

"I'll be with you in a second," coughed the brunette, spitting out the blood pooling in her mouth. It almost got her again.

She stood poised, glancing about feverishly, trying to spot her aggressor. It seemed like it was disappearing only to reappear and blast her.

"Where are you, you son of a bitch?" choked the fighter deliriously.

Another blast came from behind and knocked her off her feet. She flew face first into the pavement, cheek scraping violently against the rough concrete.

_'This isn't working,' _thought Makoto, shuffling to her feet once more. The sting of the impact agonized her bleeding face. She couldn't figure out where it was going to strike from next. It was moving so fast from so far away, that she could barely see it coming.

Instead of trying to spot it again, she just kept moving, hoping that it was in a good direction. Fortunately, whilst running, she managed to evade another wave that would have hit her from her blind spot.

_'Gotta keep moving,' _she resolved.

Rei caught sight of glowing azure eyes, out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head for a second and got pummeled in the stomach by the large youma in front of her. She skidded into a prickly bush, wind knocked out of her.

"Rei!" she heard from behind her. She glanced back and saw Makoto launching herself at the massive gray youma. The fighter managed to get a single lightning laced punch into the giant before being thrown to the side by a bright energy.

The behemoth had been knocked off balance momentarily and turned its rage against Makoto. She rolled away from yet another energy discharge, but spun right into a blow from the angry, clawed youma. Much to Rei's horror, Makoto seemed to be slowing down in what was one of the most desperate beatings of her life.

The raven haired warrior, choking on her own breath, was about to jump back into the fray, but then she saw it again. The azure eyes. It appeared only for a few seconds and launched another attack. And then it vanished in a puff of smoke. Rei watched it trail in the air, not disappearing up or away, but several meters to the left. The trail of smoke reformed into a thin ghostly semblance and released its blue fury once more.

Luckily, Makoto managed to blast the other youma with a sparkling wide pressure disc a few meters back. She was still moving, and the energy blast only clipped her right arm. But it was obvious that she wouldn't last much longer like this.

"Hold on, Makoto!" shouted Rei. She kept focused eyes on the trailing smoke, and just as it started to regain its form, she released a wave of fire upon it.

A deathly shriek was released, and the ghost dissipated before it could release another attack. It tried to flee, but Rei's eyes remained keenly fixed on her target. As it tried to reappear, the firebrand launched another stream of flames into it. Again and again, it desperately flitted back and forth, only to be met with a deluge of fiery pain.

It forgot about its original target, and started floating rapidly towards Rei.

It spun around and around the firebrand, trying to lose her focused gaze, amidst its dizzying blue swirl. She lost sight of her demonic target, but could still feel its presence all around her. It was still close.

She closed her eyes and listened. Ignoring her thudding heartbeat, ignoring the monstrous bellows and Makoto's furious battle cries, she listened intently to the gusts of movement about her. She knew that as soon as the air stilled, it was going to attack. She didn't know when and she didn't know from where. But she was determined to be ready.

The ghost reformed behind her and was instantly engulfed within a circular wall of flame. Rei stood tall, eyes closed, in the center of a burning mandala that stretched further and further out. She remained unfazed by the heat, willing the flames ever higher. Where the ghost had reappeared didn't matter, as long as it was close.

Screeching in agony, the wraith tried to rush away in a fevered attempt at escape. But the raging fires followed, concentrated heat devouring its form. The unrelenting blaze overcame the demon. Its azure eyes fell to the ground with a horrifying howl and turned to dust.

The lack of blasts had given Makoto a welcome opportunity to block the other youma's blows with crackling fists and surging kicks. Every hit it almost landed was met with an electrifying counterattack. The burns sizzling into its flesh were increasingly painful indicators that it was being worn down. It brought down a hammering claw in a desperate move for the upper hand, but the fighter caught its wrist with both hands and held on, releasing waves of electricity into its body. Despite the much larger beast's flailing, she kept her grip and let the power consume them both.

The fighter gasped for breath, as the youma dissolved into dust. She fell to her knees, urgently choking on the air as the remaining sparks sizzled off her body. Makoto could faintly hear the pounding of Rei's shoes, as they darted down the sidewalk towards her. But the sound was muffled by the ringing in her ears.

"Rei? Are you okay?" she sputtered out, as Rei held her limp frame.

Tears streamed down Rei's face. "I'm fine. Don't you worry about me."

"I'm glad," said Makoto, as she slipped away into unconsciousness.

"Makoto!"

* * *

"I can't believe it," said Ami for the fourteenth time.

"Come on, Ami-chan," whined Minako, "I'm telling the truth."

"Oh, I don't doubt that you think you're telling the truth, but I still can't believe it." The bluenette shook her head and rubbed her eyes. It was a bit much to try and take in.

"I think they'd be totally cute together," piped in Usagi.

"Now you're _positive_ that this is what you're powers mean?" asked Ami…again.

"See, this is why I was waiting to tell you!" complained Minako loudly, "I knew you wouldn't believe me, but the proof is all over the pudding now!"

"Mina-chan, I believe that you have some sort of new ability," assured Ami, "But are they really 'love waves' that you're seeing?"

"Yes, Ami-chan," asserted Minako, "I've been learning and practicing, and not only do I have the powers of love, but Mako-chan and Rei-chan have the hots for each other."

Ami sighed heavily and repeated for the sixteenth time, "I can't believe it."

As Minako was about to restate her evidence, all three of their wristwatch communicators went off.

Usagi opened hers first. "Rei-chan?"

Rei's tear streaked face came into view. "Usagi-chan! I need help! Makoto's hurt!"

Minako opened her communicator next rapidly. "Where are you guys?"

"Three blocks east down your street. Please! I can't carry her on my own, and we need to get her to Ami-chan!"

Ami spoke finally, "How bad is it?"

"She's unconscious, but she's breathing. No time to explain, just get here!"

"We'll be there in a flash, Rei-chan," said Minako quickly. She and Usagi bolted out the door and down the hallway.

"I'll be ready," confirmed Ami. She closed her communicator and started to clear off the kitchen table, before darting off into various rooms for supplies. She set up her medical rig with rapid precision, and then, began to pace. She glanced nervously at her watch now and again, as she waited for their return. It took an agonizing ten minutes for the door to open again.

Usagi and Minako dragged a bloodied Makoto onto the kitchen table. As Ami leapt into action, Minako took a hysterical Rei aside.

"Rei-chan, now tell me, what happened?"

The raven haired woman swallowed hard and tried to speak clearly, "Youma. There were two of them."

She tried to glance at Makoto's beaten body again, but Minako grabbed her by the chin and focused her face back. "She'll be fine. Ami-chan's got her. Now, tell me about the youma."

While Rei recounted the events of the attack, Ami was hard at work tending to Makoto's wounds. Her face was covered in dried blood and dirt. The bluenette wiped the residue away with a damp cloth, revealing heavily bruised skin underneath. Makoto's eye was swelling shut, but as minutes ticked by, the tissue damage appeared to be receding. Ami turned her focus to a nasty gash she discovered on Makoto's leg. It looked like it needed stitches. But with their new Senshi healing, it was hard for Ami to tell. So, she continued to clean the surface wounds and just wrapped them up tightly.

Once the visible wounds were covered, she took out her computer and did a scan. Possible concussion. Two broken ribs, healing before her eyes. And Makoto's magical output seemed to have overexerted her once again.

Ami had no idea what Makoto and Rei had been up against, but it was downright scary to think about. Without their new healing, Makoto might have been killed before she could stand up and take another hit. The fighter's injuries were looking better, but the fledgling doctor still shuddered to think of what they may have looked like thirty minutes ago.

"Is she going to be alright?" asked Usagi, coming up from behind her.

"Yes, she'll be fine," answered Ami with difficulty. She brushed away some stray hairs stuck against Makoto's formerly blood covered forehead. "I'm not sure how long it'll take though, now that our recovery processes are so heightened, though."

Minako stared at Makoto's bruised face. "Oh, Kami-sama…" Rei hadn't been kidding about the getting hit over and over part.

Rei said nothing and grasped Makoto's hand tightly.

"Are you injured at all, Rei-chan?" asked Ami gently.

Rei held out her left arm. It was covered in scuffs and dried blood. But the wounds appeared to be closed. Ami began cleaning them somberly.

"Take Mako-chan to my bed, please," instructed Ami to Usagi and Minako, "All we can do now is let her rest."

Rei hesitated to let go of Makoto's hand, but she relinquished. The blondes gingerly lifted their beaten friend and carried her off.

"When is she going to wake up?" asked Rei.

"It's hard to tell, really," admitted Ami, "She seems to be healing much slower than Mina-chan had been, but I suspect it's from expending her magical energies so much. I assume that Mako-chan was using her lightning powers quite strenuously, and that probably took focus away from healing. Luckily, she had enough in her to keep her alive and fight."

"She's already done this before," said Rei frustratedly, "She threw too much power once and ended up blacking out on me."

Trying to quell some of the shrine maiden's agitation, Ami spoke softly, "I don't think it was from overdoing the thunder this time. This time I think her exhaustion is more human than magical. She was hurt pretty badly after all."

Rei put her head in her hands defeatedly. "I just wish she'd wake up and tell me she was okay."

The bluenette couldn't help, but notice the change in Rei's demeanor towards Makoto. She hesitated to think that it was out of some romantic love that the shrine maiden was so heartbroken over their friend's injuries, but the Goddess of Love's annoying chiding kept ringing through her head.

She finished wrapping Rei's arm. "Well, you seem okay now. Keep these bandages on till at least the morning. You should be fine, as long as you get plenty of rest."

Rei stretched her neck a bit. "I still feel a bit sore, but I suppose you're right." She fidgeted. "Where are we going to keep Mako-chan?"

It seemed like an odd question to Ami. "She's going to need to stay here of course. Someone has to take care of her in her condition."

"I'll take care of her," volunteered Rei. "We can take her back to my place."

"It would be best if we didn't move her for a while," recommended the doctor in training.

Rei hesitated. "Do you mind if I stay here then? I want to be around when she wakes up."

Ami laid a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "You know you're always welcome."

The small gesture seemed to affect the fragile shrine maiden. "Thank you, Ami-chan," she choked out with difficulty, "For saving her."

It wasn't often that the bluenette saw the strong, willful firebrand this broken up. She drew her friend into a comforting embrace. "She's going to be alright, Rei-chan. I promise."

Rei shuddered, as she tried to calm her nerves. They were Senshi. They'd been injured plenty of times. They had a number of close calls. And they'd always come out fine in the end. She was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine.

She repeated those statements in her head over and over, before bursting into tears in Ami's arms.

* * *

Before she had even opened her eyes, she could hear the patter of rain against the window pane. She let out a relaxed breath and smiled. It was a comfortable noise. Eyelids parted to reveal an unfamiliar room. It wasn't unfamiliar for very long as she pieced together the clues. Judging from the books, desk, and photos, she was in…

"Ami-chan's room?" Makoto mumbled curiously to herself. She shifted, drawing a soft sigh from the side of it. Slightly startled, the brunette finally took notice of the shrine maiden slumped in a chair next to the bed, appearing as uncomfortable as ever.

Makoto shifted into sitting position in bed and felt a tightness on her right arm and leg. She lifted the covers as gently and quietly as she could, discovering that both were wrapped up tightly in in long white bandages.

She unreeled the layers of bandage on her right arm and strangely enough, there was nothing wrong. She checked her leg, however, and judging by the sore pink flesh underneath, she decided it was best to keep that one on.

_'What happened to me?' _she wondered, leaning back against the headboard. A quick glance at the softly ticking clock on the wall told her it was half past five in the morning. Was it too early to ask Rei?

She looked back down at the heavily sleeping form. Perhaps it was.

So, she leaned back under the covers and tried to relax. When that didn't work, she tried to figure out how she might have ended up in this situation. She clenched her eyes shut and attempted to focus. It was hazy, but she could remember seeing Rei's face. She was bleeding. Why was she bleeding?

A splitting headache overtook her senses, pressuring her to stop thinking so hard.

She rolled over again toward the window and stared at the lightning, as it flashed beyond the rooftops. Her focus wandered to the sounds and sight of the rain outside, dulling the ache in her skull.

All at once, she became suddenly exhausted again. However, the unfortunate need to go to the bathroom pressed itself. She thus willed herself to roll onto her feet. Her balance almost gave way immediately, but thanks to quicker reflexes, she regained her footing.

Another uncomfortable groan came from her sleeping companion. Limping to the other side of the bed, Makoto lifted Rei out of the wooden chair. Her bandaged leg wasn't terribly happy with the great effort, but she ignored its protests.

As she was being placed underneath the warm covers, Rei began to rouse. Through fluttering half lidded eyes, she could make out the face of the fighter and mumbled her name in hazy recognition.

"Shh…quiet now," whispered Makoto sweetly into her ear, "Everything's fine. Just sleep." It didn't take much coaxing. Rei surrendered to sleep quite easily as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The fighter's gaze lingered on the woman slumbering so serenely. Stray raven locks were brushed fondly off her face with a gentle touch. A contented sigh escaped, sending a pang straight through Makoto's heart. It was a wonder how affected she found herself by this one person. It had never been like this before with anyone.

Makoto placed an adoring kiss upon Rei's cheek, lightly brushing the corner of her mouth. She remained for several more moments before finally tearing herself away. Her body ached to feel shrine maiden's lithe frame against it and settle back to sleep, but she had some pressing matters to take care of. She commenced the arduous task of dragging herself toward the bathroom.

She had failed to notice the still, shadowed figure watching her every step down the hall.

* * *

In her more recent years, Mizuno Ami had become a light sleeper. Having to adapt to her ever changing medical school schedule, her body had become accustomed to waking at a moment's notice. While her newly developed hyper-alertness was often a blessing, it was on stormy nights like these that she found herself unable to quiet her nerves.

The rolling thunder left her agitated and restless. Sleep seemed improbable, after an hour of turning on her uncomfortable sofa. There was a battered Senshi in her own bed, who would hopefully be recovered by the next afternoon. But none of them really knew if that estimate would hold true. Their new healing capabilities were still unpredictable.

Ami pushed the covers off and shifted onto her feet. Perhaps it was time to check on her patient. She padded softly down the hall, only to pause at the sound of movement coming from inside her bedroom. Was Rei awake?

Peering into the room, she found Makoto lowering Rei into the bed. At first, it came as a surprise to see the fighter's strength back so quickly. However, she quickly noticed the pain in Makoto's features upon releasing the the woman. The covers were drawn over Rei. And Ami noticed the Makoto whispering gently into Rei's ear. Lovingly, almost.

The bluenette puzzled. There was something about her friend's tenderness that seemed different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Ami continued to observe silently.

Unexpectedly, she had to smother a gasp.

Makoto kissed Rei.

_But that…That would mean…No. Minako couldn't be right. _

There was no way that Minako could be right. She had decided that earlier.

But there was Makoto, fawning lovingly over Rei as she slept. There was Makoto gazing with that adoring look that she reserved for sempai impersonators. There was Makoto - coming right out the door towards her.

Ami sprung backwards and glued herself against the wall. The injured woman paid the hidden bluenette no mind, as she trudged with obvious effort towards the bathroom.

When the door shut down the hallway, Ami released the breath she had forgotten she was holding.


	17. Chapter 17 - The Doctor

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Seventeen - The Doctor

_Take care._

continue.

* * *

Makoto flipped on the lights in the kitchen to find a frazzled looking bluenette sitting at the counter.

"Mako-chan!" jumped Ami.

The brunette flipped the light switch off quickly and apologized, "Sorry, Ami-chan. I didn't realize you were in here. I didn't mean to startle you."

Lightning illuminated the darkened room and the remaining agitation in Ami's features.

"No-I-er…" mumbled Ami, as she tried to recollect herself, "I mean, it's fine. Please turn on the lights."

Makoto complied curiously and slowly worked her way towards the scattered genius. "I just wanted to get a glass of water," she muttered awkwardly.

"Oh! Don't let me stop you." Ami leapt from her seat and grabbed a glass from the cupboard.

"Are you okay?"

"Me?" started Ami. She pushed the sight of Makoto kissing Rei out of her head and tried not to spill the water she was pouring. "Don't worry about me. If anything we should be talking about you." She handed the fighter the glass.

"Thanks. I have this awful taste in my mouth." The brunette swished the water in her mouth vigorously. "Ugh. Tastes like blood."

"It probably is blood," acknowledged Ami.

Makoto paused thoughtfully. "What happened anyway?"

Ami blinked in surprise. "You don't remember?"

"Well…" She struggled. Bits and pieces were starting to come back, breaking through the walls of her headache. But it still seemed like some hazy nightmare.

The bluenette tried to remind her, "You and Rei were attacked by two youma…"

"I guess that sounds familiar."

Ami placed her palm on Makoto's forehead. "Your temperature was a bit high earlier," she explained, "I was also worried that you might have had a concussion. The scans were inconclusive, but who knows with our new healing rates. Do you remember any blows to the head specifically?"

Makoto concentrated in spite of the throbbing pain. "I remember being blown into a bench. And falling on my face. And being punched a whole lot. Maybe, one of those was to the head. It seems almost like a bad dream."

"It wasn't though." Ami shook her head. "I'm glad you're doing fine, Mako-chan. We were all worried sick, especially Rei-chan."

"Sorry," said Makoto, "I didn't mean to."

"Oh hush, there's nothing for you to apologize for," replied Ami, surprised and unsurprised that Makoto would feel the need to apologize for nearly getting killed. She continued before her friend could lay any more blame. "I certainly expect you to get some bed-rest this time. And I'm not kidding, Kino Makoto. Don't you dare drag yourself to work again."

In the state brunette was in, she didn't feel particularly up for arguing. "I'm not going anywhere," she assured, "It was just that one time. I needed to pick up my check so I could afford Rei's birthday present. But I got it, I'll stay home, I swear."

Images of Makoto lovingly whispering into Rei's ear flashed through the genius's head and were quickly smothered. "Right…Rei-chan's birthday is tomorrow." Ami shook her head rapidly, as if trying to jostle the memory off of it. "More of a reason to rest up now, if you're planning on doing a lot of cooking again this year. It took a lot out of you last year."

"That's only because Minako-chan tried to 'help.'" Horrid visions of a sheepish looking Minako covered in cake batter made her shudder. "She knows she's banned from my kitchen, so it should be smooth sailing this year. I told her she could be in charge of decorations, so hopefully that'll keep her occupied. And Usagi-chan is taking Rei-chan to a movie, while we set up the party."

"Do you need me to take care of anything?" inquired Ami.

Makoto flashed a toothy grin, momentarily forgetting her migraine. There was a job that Ami could handle best. "Minako Wrangling."

"Oh, right…Of course…" Keeping Minako out of trouble. She had been getting used to it more and more.

"I love her to death, but sometimes, I have no idea what's going on in that head of hers," said Makoto, sipping her water pensively, "Especially lately. I mean one minute she's incredibly insightful and the next she's acting even more whacked out than usual. Do you know what's been up with her?"

Ami bit her tongue. She knew exactly what Minako had been thinking, no - obsessing over, lately. "She seems pretty regular Minako to me."

"She's got a secret," suggested Makoto, "Which is strange because she's usually terrible at keeping secrets."

"Mako-chan?" came a raspy voice from the hallway. The pair turned to find a sleep addled shrine maiden standing in quiet bewilderment.

The corner of the fighter's mouth downturned. "Rei-chan, what are you doing up? I thought I put you in bed."

Rei blinked the remaining sleep from her eyes and returned an indignant scowl. "Me? I should be saying the same thing to you? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"Uh…" Makoto's eyes darted toward Ami as if seeking backup, but the ocean blue eyes only met the floor.

The pair cringed as Rei moved in closer, presuming an outburst. Instead, a gentle hand was laid on Makoto's face as she was asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Makoto relaxed and nodded simply. Rei threw her arms around the bruised brunette and gripped rather tightly.

The fighter returned the embrace, kissed the raven haired woman on the cheek briefly, and whispered reassurances. "Shh…I'm fine, I promise. I'm sorry."

Ami kept silent, wishing at that moment that her new powers involved invisibility instead of ice. The display seemed rather intimate and she felt like she was intruding. Though, technically it was _her_ apartment and she had been there first. And they were all friends. She had been worried about Makoto too. Friends were supposed to worry. Rei and Makoto were just being friendly. So what was there to feel uncomfortable about?

"Ami-chan?" Suddenly Rei was sitting down on the stool in front of her. Both she and Makoto were staring at her, as if waiting for an answer.

"Pardon?" was all she could mumble out. She wondered when they had moved and how she hadn't noticed.

"Can I take Makoto home?" repeated Rei.

Ami could feel the redness creep up her face. "Can wha-?"

"Home," said Makoto again, "I'd like to head home and rest there, if that's okay with you."

"Unless, you need to do some more tests or anything," Rei added.

"Oh home, yes of course!" Ami answered rather loudly. She paused and cleared her throat, thankful that Minako could sleep through a stampede. It was a valid enough question considering Makoto was on her feet and cognizant. She undid the bandages and inspected the rapidly healing burns. The progress was still remarkable.

"As long as you don't walk all the way there, I suppose it's fine," relented the doctor in training, "You can borrow my car. The keys are on the counter."

"Thanks, Ami-chan. I'll go get my things." Rei departed into the bedroom.

"Yeah thanks…I just would feel more comfortable being at home where I know Minako-chan isn't around to care for me," admitted Makoto.

The blue haired genius could not deny that she had a point. Ami had to be at the hospital in the afternoon, so it would probably be for the best if they just left early. She considered the possibility of having Minako agitating Makoto with her 'care,' or even worse, agitating Rei with her love schemes.

Exasperated at the Nurse/Matchmaker Minako of her imagination, Ami sighed and put her head in her hands. "You're probably right."

"Come on Mako-chan. Let's go."

Ami had barely registered opening the door, as Makoto hobbled slowly out of it with Rei supporting her. The next thing she realized, she had made it back into her own bed, still frazzled from their interactions. She laid there, absolutely astounded at the fact that Minako could be right about them.

* * *

"I said 'I'm sorry.' Can I please get up now?" asked Makoto from her bed. She could hear pots clanging in the kitchen. In _her_ kitchen, but she couldn't see what was going on. It was intensely disconcerting.

"No, you're relaxing today goddammit, now relax!" called Rei's voice.

"But, Rei-chan…" she whined.

"I'm making you something to eat and that's that. Stop complaining."

Makoto pouted and laid back. Rei drove them to her apartment and immediately sent her to bed. The bruised brunette tried to convince her girlfriend that she was fine, but to no avail. Rei wasn't budging. Makoto lamented quietly over the things she had wanted to accomplish that day. She wanted to clean her apartment, pay off her bills, take care of the plants…and now she was stuck indefinitely. It wasn't as if those things couldn't have waited another day or two. It was the principle of the thing. She had promised Ami that she'd stay home, but she never said anything about laying in bed all day. She was injured, not in a coma!

Rei entered the room with a tray. She set it down on the nightstand. She gathered a spoonful of soup and held it in front of Makoto's mouth.

"I'm not an invalid!" protested Makoto indignantly.

"Can't you just humor me? I just want to take care of my girlfriend!" snapped Rei.

The argument caught short in Makoto's mouth. And just as she was ready to apologize, she stopped herself again. Rei hated when she apologized over every little thing. So instead, she opened her mouth and grudgingly accepted the spoon.

"Good," smirked the raven haired woman triumphantly. She set the tray on Makoto's lap and handed her the spoon. "I'll be right back with the rice."

Emerald eyes followed Rei, as she left the room. When her gaze returned to the tray, she was overcome by a memory. It was the same simple meal that the shrine maiden had fixed for her when she was first hurt by a youma. Miso soup and rice porridge. She tasted the soup again. It was much more flavorful this time around. Rei's cooking had improved within the month.

A month? She would have never guessed at any of this, back then. It had only been a little more than a month since Rei saved her life and took care of her. So much had happened to them since then, yet they still came full circle.

Rei returned in time to catch a tear streaking down Makoto's face.

"Makoto, what's the matter?" asked Rei, settling down next the the brunette.

"It's nothing," she replied quickly, wiping the tear away.

Rei pressed with an impatient frown, "No, it's not. Just tell me."

"I'm just not really used to anyone taking care of me like this. And I was just thinking about the last time it happened. It was you too."

"Me?"

"Back when it all started-" She tried to figure out how to explain. "I don't know…I just…"

Makoto stopped and batted back the moisture in her eyes. She took the tray off her lap, setting it on the nightstand. Obstacle removed, she pulled the object of her affection in close. The closeness helped her still her frazzled nerves. "What I mean to say is: thank you."

"Of course, Mako," whispered Rei, leaning further into the embrace. "You don't have to be alone anymore. I'm here."

Makoto exhaled contentedly and squeezed tighter. A short rumble emerged from her stomach. They parted, and she coughed embarrassedly, feeling as if she had just ruined the moment.

But Rei simply placed the tray back on her girlfriend's lap.

"Now, eat your breakfast," instructed Rei, with a stern, no-nonsense glare. "I want you to recover enough, so you can take me on that date this evening."

The fighter grabbed the spoon and nodded. "I'll do my best."

* * *

Minako stared at the closed white door in front of her.

"Helloooooo?" she said louder, but the door didn't respond. She knocked on it again. No answer.

She jumped slightly at yet another crash of thunder. She wanted to get inside immediately, but no one was coming to rescue her from the downpour. She grumbled under her breath about smashing the door in with a crescent beam, but instead chose to call out one more time. "Mako-chan? I know you're home! I'm letting myself in!"

Minako rifled through her purse looking for her spare keys. She had one to Usagi and Mamoru's apartment, one to Rei's shrine, and one to Makoto's place. They all had one, just in case one of them might have been abducted by aliens from another dimension and needed to be saved. Or if they were out of town and needed the mail picked up or something. These things happened after all.

She opened the door and found the apartment quiet and unlit. She shook off her umbrella at the doorway and took off her shoes. Makoto's shoes were there, and so were Rei's. _If they were there the whole time, why didn't they answer?_

She place her coat on the hanger and walked towards Makoto's bedroom. Upon reaching the open door, she had to clamp her hands over her mouth to keep from squealing.

Sprawled on the bed, she discovered Makoto and Rei sound asleep. Together. In an intimate embrace. Sleeping. Together.

Minako sprung aback in dramatic fashion and landed gracelessly on her rear end. She froze in her position on the floor and breathed as quietly as she could. After waiting several seconds, she heard no indication that her stumbling woke them up. Then again, if they slept through the thunder and her pounding on the door, she supposed it wasn't terribly surprising.

She peeked around the doorframe and observed. Makoto lay on her back with her head propped up on a few pillows. Her arm was slung around Rei, who rested her head on the brunette's chest. Her hand clutched at the fabric of Makoto's tank top. They both slept, as contented as could be.

Minako didn't know what she should do. Should she bust them and wake them up? No, Rei would probably kill her. Should she take a picture with her phone and show it to Ami? No, it was too dark in the room to ever take good enough photo without turning the lights on. Maybe she should -

_"Search for your love!" _screeched her phone's ring tone from her purse by the door. She darted towards her bag to silence her phone. She had no idea her cell could sound so heinously loud.

"Damn you Kous, and your stupid catchy music," she cursed, as she got a hold of the phone. It was Usagi calling. At the crappiest time, of course. She silenced it.

"What are you doing here?" asked a gruff voice from behind her.

Minako cringed and turned around slowly to meet a disgruntled looking shrine maiden. "Hiya, Rei-chan! How are you doing today?" she greeted, in as cheerfully nonchalant of a voice as she could muster.

"I'm fine. What are you doing here?" repeated Rei, obviously annoyed from being woken up.

"Oh me? I was just checking up on Mako-chan. And Ami-chan asked me to pick up her car while I was here, so you would have to go out of your way."

Rei's agitation faded instantly. "Oh. Thanks. And tell Ami-chan thank you again for the car too. Mako-chan can't walk so well yet."

Minako breathed a sigh of secret relief. "Of course! No problem. Is she awake?"

Rei glanced back towards the door, oblivious to the fact that Minako had been watching them. "No, she's still resting up." She glanced at the clock on the wall. They had only been sleeping for about an hour. She felt better from the nap, but knew Makoto would need much more sleep than that.

"Poor thing is exhausted, but wouldn't admit it at first."

"Well is she recovering okay?" asked Minako, alluding to the nasty wounds she had seen the afternoon before. Ami told her that the injuries had made miraculous strides, when she saw them in the morning.

"Yeah, really quick," revealed Rei, with much relief. "I'm hoping she'll be fine by tomorrow, but that might be a bit much to ask."

"Don't worry," insisted Minako reassuringly, "I'm sure Mako-chan will be all better for your birthday."

"Shit, my birthday is tomorrow…You're right. I almost forgot."

"That's funny, you were super excited about it just yesterday morning," remarked the blonde, holding back a grin, "Or was that something else?"

Rei kicked herself internally for slipping up. "I was! _AM! _I was and still am excited about my birthday and nothing else," she blurted out to cover. She sighed at the lameness of her own reply, actively trying to ignore Minako's aggravating half smile, half smirk.

"You suuuuure?" poked Minako annoyingly.

"Yes!" snapped Rei. She tried to steer the subject away quickly. "So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow then?"

"We've got it covered," assured the blonde, "Usagi-chan is going take you out on the town in the morning and afternoon while the rest of us set up the evening's entertainment."

"Are you going to cook again?" questioned Rei suspiciously, vaguely recalling some sort of cake debacle.

"No, I've been tasked with something greater than that: I'm the event coordinator," Minako proclaimed proudly.

Rei smirked. "Mako-chan banned you from the kitchen, didn't she?"

"It's called 'event coordinator,'" she huffed, re-emphasizing the important title.

"Rei?" called a raspy voice from the bedroom.

Rei and Minako entered the room quickly.

"Hey Mako-chan, how are you feeling?" asked Minako cheerfully.

Makoto gave a tired smile. "I'll admit I'm a little dizzy, but I'm not doing too bad."

"Can I get you anything?" asked Rei.

"A glass of water would be nice, please."

"Be right back," said Rei, as she left the room.

Minako sat down on the bed next to her recovering friend. "It's good to see you're actually letting Rei-chan take care of you." She knew first hand how resistant Makoto could be to those kinds of things.

Makoto cleared her throat. "She didn't give me much choice."

Minako giggled. "I suppose she wouldn't. So, how's the leg?"

"Haven't checked in a while," replied the battered brunette. She unwrapped the bandage slowly revealing some sore pink flesh. "That looks better, I think."

"You should have seen it when we dragged you to our apartment," remarked Minako, impressed with the progress, "It was pretty gruesome."

Her damaged friend didn't reply. Her face scrunched in thought. Rei came in and handed Makoto a glass that she downed gratefully.

"It feels like I've been binge drinking or something. Like the memory of what I did is there, but it's fuzzy. And when I wake up from being blacked out, I feel sick as a dog. Then fine for a little while. But then the next thing you know, I'm sick again. It sucks."

She pressed her fingers against her temple firmly and groaned.

Rei took back the glass and set it on the nightstand. "Lay back. Don't worry about it any more. Just relax."

Makoto exhaled and closed her eyes. Through gritted teeth, she mumbled. "I think I'm just going to try and go back to sleep for a little bit, if you don't mind."

Minako rose immediately. "Sure thing, Mako-chan. You just rest. We'll be in the next room if you need anything."

Rei hesitated. Her worried gaze lingered upon the tense brunette. Minako grabbed Rei's hand. "Come on, Rei-chan."

The pair sat down on the couch. The concern didn't leave Rei's face.

"She'll be fine, just let her rest," said Minako reassuringly, trying not to betray her own worry.

The pair sat in contemplating quiet for several moments, until Minako's phone loudly sang for her attentions once again. She really had to remember to turn the volume down.

"Usagi-chan?" she said as she answered. "I'm sorry I missed you a couple minutes ago. I'm visiting Mako-chan."

"Did you listen to the voicemail I just left you?" asked the hesitant voice over phone.

"No, not yet," replied Minako, "I'm sorry. What's up?"

"Have you looked outside recently?"

It seemed like an odd question. "Not since I walked over here maybe twenty minutes ago. It was raining a whole lot, that's for sure."

"Just look outside for a minute, will you?" repeated Usagi nervously.

Minako shrugged and pulled back the curtains. Rei was the first to gasp.

Outside, waited a eerily crimson sky smeared with sickly orange clouds. Violent streaks of cyan lightning slashed across the heavens. The rain fell in sheets buffeted by powerful gales.

The blonde spotted what had at first looked like a moving speck in the distance. She squinted. It took her a moment to make it out. A gargoyle's massive black wings flapped with ease in the midst in the storm clouds. The phone fell from her hand.

"What in hell is that thing?" whispered Rei in unsettled awe.

"Mina-chan? Minako-chan? Are you there?" called Usagi's voice from the floor.

Minako picked her phone up, still trying to regather her wits. "Usagi-chan, where are you?"

"I'm at home. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Depends, can you see the flying demon from where you're at?"

"Flying demon?" exclaimed Usagi.

"Uh…Mina-chan…" prodded Rei nervously, "Make that demons."

Two more gargoyles, partially obscured by the clouds, were illuminated by the blue lightning flashes.

"Usagi-chan. Find Ami-chan and get over to Mako-chan's neighborhood. Rei-chan and I are going to hit the rooftops."

"What about Mako-chan?"

"She's sleeping and in no condition to fight right now. We're leaving her here. Find Ami-chan and meet us."

"Be careful!"

Minako bolted towards her shoes and jacket. Rei followed in suit, but hesitated to admit, "I don't know if I'm going to be able to do much good while it's raining like this." They both knew that her firepower would be diminished if not distinguished completely in the storm.

"I know, Rei-chan. Just back me up with whatever you can." Minako opened up the sliding glass door leading to Makoto's porch. She was immediately hit by a cold blast of wind and water.

"Ugh, I hate fighting in the rain," she remarked distastefully, as she leapt from the porch to the apartment building's roof.

Rei took a last glance at the darkened apartment before sliding the glass door shut and jumping into the fray.

* * *

Song Credit - Minako's Ringtone:

Nagareboshi He (To The Shooting Stars) - Three Lights' Song for Kakyuu, Sailor Stars Season


	18. Chapter 18 - The Melee

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Eighteen - The Melee

_Give them everything you've got. _

continue.

* * *

The pair of warriors leapt from rooftop to rooftop with much duress, against the winds and rain. They soldiered forward, soaked to the bone and bitterly cold, until they closed in on what they hoped was the eye of the storm. It became harder and harder to move effectively against the gales, but they pushed through toward the epicenter.

"I think we're getting close!" yelled Minako.

Rei didn't bother to reply. She couldn't understand what Minako had shouted against the loud winds in her ear anyhow. The heavy rain and gusts started to thin. The eye of the storm proved to be much less severe than the surrounding walls of rage.

Minako stopped to try and catch her breath in the brief moment of respite. She and Rei crouched on the tallest building in the prefecture, masked behind a rooftop generator.

She opened up her wristwatch and called Ami and Usagi. "We're here. It wasn't easy to get here, but it's calmer at the center. I think we're on the Yamamoto building."

"I'm driving to the hospital to get Ami-chan right now," replied Usagi distractedly. The roads were a bit crazy, but at the very least the hospital was on the way to their inevitable destination. "I'm trying to go faster, but I can't see where I'm going."

Rei flipped open her watch. "How long do you think you'll be?"

"Twenty to thirty minutes, if we're lucky," answered Usagi.

"Can you wait for us?" asked Ami, who, judging by the noises offscreen, was packing up her business as fast as she could.

Minako looked for the gargoyles. She couldn't see them from her vantage point. "Maybe. But if they spot us or start trashing anything or anyone, we're going to have to fight them off. We'll wait as long as we can."

"Right."

The four Senshi closed their communicators. Minako and Rei crouched low against a wall, trying to shield themselves from view, though they knew it would be ineffective from directly above.

"How long do you think we have until we're spotted?" asked Rei.

"A couple minutes tops," replied Minako grimly.

The firebrand gasped. "There! I see one!" A gargoyle flew a short distance away. It hadn't spotted them yet.

"What's the plan?" she asked.

"Ami-chan's the strategist," shrugged their leader, "The only thing I can think of involves crescent beaming it like crazy. If it gets close enough, maybe you can try to burn its face off before the water douses your flames."

"Kami-sama, I wish I had a bow and arrow on me right now," cursed Rei, before adding, "One that isn't made of fire."

"I don't mean to be negative, but their skin looks kinda tough from here."

Dark scales coated in storm water spoke of a rough exterior. Sharpened spikes tipped heavy bat-like wings that tore through the lightning laced skies. A spark of recognition seemed to straighten the beast for a moment. It changed directions suddenly, appearing to be searching for something.

A dreadful shriek shot out from behind them. The youma in Minako's sights halted at the noise. She turned around to find one of its brethren flying toward them at rapid speed.

"Rei-chan, stay back here!" shouted Minako, jumping out in the open. She wasted little time in shooting a light blast straight at the aggressor's chest. The gargoyle let a piercing scream of pain. Much to the blonde warrior's relief, her attacks appeared to be effective. She shot another beam into her foe's wing, knocking the youma off its flight path.

The demon began to flap gracelessly in the distance. It hadn't made it much closer to the newfound targets before a gaping hole was blown into its other wing. The injury and unrelenting winds sent it crashing into a water tower and tumbling down onto the nearby roof.

Minako kept a keen eye on her foe, poised to finish it off from a distance.

A warning cry came from her partner. "Mina-chan, look out!"

She narrowly dodged a strike from the first youma's claws. A sharpened talon slammed into the concrete, where she had moments ago been standing. It recovered much quicker than she anticipated, leaping straight at her once more. She tumbled to the side, rolling along the cold, wet roof. When the demon dove toward her yet again, she released a desperate blast at its chest. She missed her intended mark, but managed to clip the side of her foe's hideous face. It ignored the streaks of blood coursing into its eye, continuing its assault with a distressing amount of vigor and speed.

Rei tried her best to conjure flames, but could only produce steam in her hands. She wanted desperately to jump in and aid her friend, but the rain was effectively dousing her chance at offense. Her heart leapt in surprise, as she saw a claw tear into a nearby ledge. A second talon fell upon the concrete with a sickening crack.

Youma number two. Wings now defunct, it clawed its way up the side of the building.

Her eyes darted towards Minako, who had her hands full, trying to land another blast into the first gargoyle without avail. It was incredibly fast and startlingly evasive.

Rei knew she couldn't let the other youma reach Minako. She had to distract it. She concentrated harder, willing even more heat into her hands, but the resulting sparks of fire were quickly smothered by the rainwater. The demon crawled over the ledge and starting slumping toward Minako on a shattered leg. The lengthy tumble managed to injure it, though not nearly enough to halt its pursuit.

"Hey ugly! Over here!" shouted Rei, calling attention to herself. The youma stared appraisingly.

With a sickly screech, the gargoyle changed course towards her instead of Minako. It worked. But what the hell was she supposed to do with it once it got to her?

She pulled out an ofuda. The talisman smoldered in her hot hand, and the ashes were swept up in the rainwater. Rei cursed. Plan B was out.

A clawed swipe sent Rei tumbling to the concrete. While her reflexes saved her from a potentially lethal blow, a deep gash screamed off her side. She laid on her back, momentarily stunned from the impact. In the blink of an eye, she found the youma looming over her.

Instinctively, her hands came up in front of her face, heating up in desperation. A heavy cloud of steam burst forth, and she heard the youma hiss behind the obscured air. Seizing the opportunity, she rolled away and back onto her feet. And then, an idea struck. She conjured up as much heat in her hands as she could muster and disappeared in the resulting fog. She could hear the frustrated gargoyle lashing out aimlessly.

Her plan was short lived though. The steam heat dissipated quickly in the cold rain. It was no Shabon Spray, that was certain. It didn't last long and was far too difficult to maintain. She continued to back up slowly, struggling to see her opponent in the fog of her own making. When her back hit a radio tower, she knew there wasn't anywhere else to go.

A crackling noise came from behind her. She looked down at her hand. Where it was touching the metal, the heat made it glow, and the rain made it sizzle. She pressed her palm flat against the beam, and much to her astonishment, the steel melted at her touch. She pushed straight through the beam and held the white molten liquid in her hand. The rain turned to steam around it, but the metal remained liquified against her fingers.

She grabbed at another section of the beam and came out with a second handful of flowing steel. She charged straight at the demon, flinging the molten heat at its face with a frenzied yell.

A bright streak of liquid fire was the last thing it saw.

The gargoyle howled at the intense pain. The dripping steel solidified against its eyes, fusing hot agony with skin. Scratching hopelessly at its own face, it tried to remove the disfiguring metal, but succeeded only in leaving deep, bleeding claw marks upon its horrifying visage. Two more globs of white heat began to burn holes in its back before hardening into dense metal shards. More and more molten daggers tore through its hardened flesh, until the demon was weighted down by the heavy torment. It crumpled into a twisted heap.

Rei stood tall over the flailing mass on the roof, bearing a twisted rod - a weapon forged in the heat of her retribution. With an impassioned cry, she drove the mangled rail into her foe's evil heart.

The youma, finally dead, dissolved to ashes and was washed away.

Rei fell to her knees, gasping for air. She had never felt such an intense heat up close, especially not coming from her. She looked at her hands. They remained unburned. The heat emanating from them was dying however. Her magical energies were being quickly spent.

"Minako-chan," she breathed gruffly, struggling to see past the dissipating steam and spot her friend.

When the fog cleared, she saw Minako struggling to rise on a bloodied leg. She spat blood on a wet clump of youma dust. "Rei-chan, I got him," she choked.

They stumbled towards each other and took cover, back against the same wall at which they had started.

"There was a third one," reminded Minako, with a groan. She was exhausted, and it looked to her like Rei was too.

"I can't see him," said Rei. She was somewhat thankful for that fact, if only for the brief moment of respite. But they both knew that couldn't let it get away.

"It's two against one," remarked Minako hopefully.

"I don't know if I have that much more to give," admitted Rei. It took a lot of magic to heat up the metal to its melting point so many times.

"You can- Wait." Minako stopped suddenly. "What's that noise?"

Rapid clacking was heard, followed by a louder thud. Footsteps. And a landing. The worn out duo turned to see Ami and Sailor Moon leaping onto their roof.

"Oh, thank Kami-sama," exhaled Rei in genuine relief.

Minako waved them over.

"Sorry we took so long," apologized Ami.

"Never mind that," interrupted Minako, "Rei-chan and I took out one each. But there's still another one out there."

Ami opened up her computer, trying to shield it with her jacket from the rain. "If it's out there, I'll find it."

The Senshi stared tensely at the computer, though only one of them understood its cryptic codes.

"Uhh guys…" prodded Sailor Moon hesitantly.

"I've almost got it, Sailor Moon," replied Ami distractedly.

The nervous Soldier of the Moon pointed straight ahead. "I think I've found the youma."

The Senshi looked up and spotted five gargoyles landing on the roof in front of them. None of the demons looked too happy.

The tactician's eyes widened in panic. "Quick! What can you tell me about them?"

"They're fast until you injure them," answered Minako rapidly, "We need to slow them down first."

"I have an idea for that!" cried the bluenette. She concentrated her energy into the air.

The water near the demons began to crystalize. Soon, the rain above them solidified into hail and scattered upon them. Wet scales collected snow and began to harden from the arctic winds.

Ami was obviously undergoing great strain to freeze all five demons at once, and they were still fast approaching.

"Give them everything you've got!" cried Minako, shooting blasts of light to force them back.

The ice was slowing them down significantly, but the quintet of black gargoyles kept proceeding forward.

Sailor Moon powered up her Eternal Tiare and managed to vaporize one. As she began her incantation once more, Minako scored a direct sniper hit through the skull of another. Rei stayed next to Ami, saving the last piece of molten metal she could muster for the first youma to break through their line.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" cried Sailor Moon, taking out number three. She stumbled back a few steps, not being used to having to use her more powerful attacks multiple times. But there were still two more. She proceeded through the incantation once again.

Just as Minako wasted another one, she noticed Sailor Moon's immediate fatigue. "Sailor Moon, stop it! You're not meant to use the Ginzoushou like that."

"But there's still one left," breathed the sailor suited warrior tiredly, "I can do it again. I have at least one more in me."

"Wait, Sailor Moon!" cried out Rei.

The final youma froze in its tracks, finally overcome by the ice. Ami collapsed from the intense expenditure of energy. Rei threw aside her remaining metal ball and tried to help her up. But she couldn't get near the arctic bite of Ami's skin. The frigid temperature emanating off the spent woman overwhelmed Rei's heat.

Minako slumped towards the frozen youma and tapped the ice. Beady eyes followed her motion. She leapt back, surprised that it could still be even partially alive in there.

She summoned a golden chain and wrapped it around the iced gargoyle. WIth a great heave, she sent it hurtling off the edge of the building. It smashed into pieces, upon impact with the ground.

"Ami-chan, are you okay?" asked Rei, as both of their temperatures returned to normal. Once she felt like they wouldn't burn each other, she helped sit the worn bluenette upright.

"I'll be okay," muttered the spent ice soldier, "Just tired."

"That's the last of them, I think," coughed an exhausted Minako.

"The sky…" Sailor Moon looked up. It was still as swirling and dangerous as it had been before, sickly in color and violent in wind.

Ami pulled out her computer. She noticed something strange about one of the storm clouds in particular. Her analysis confirmed her suspicion.

A turbid yellow cloud hung calmly in the center of raging blood red skies. Unlike the others, it produced no rain. And unlike the others, it emanated a staggering amount of negative energy.

It appeared to be the source of all of this mess. The gargoyles must have been guarding it.

"Sailor Moon, hit that cloud up there," she instructed quickly, "It's the only yellow one there is. Destroy it."

Sailor Moon nodded and grasped her Tiare, "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" The energy was absorbed into the cloud. It began to rumble internally. Beams of light shot from all sides of it, until it was consumed by the gleaming.

The Senshi squinted against the intense glare, each trying to shield their vision at the sudden brightness. As they opened their eyes, the sky slowly faded from crimson to its normal blue hue. The clouds went white, as the rain trickled to a halt.

Sailor Moon slumped to the rooftop floor and unwittingly, her transformation faded. She paid it no mind and laid on her back, letting the newly streaming sunlight warm her face.

Four spent women laid there panting, sprawled on the highest rooftop in the prefecture, soaked to the bone and near dead from exhaustion.

Each one of them gave it everything they had.

* * *

The brunette woke up feeling at ease in her own bed for a change. A vermillion glow peered through her curtains, bathing the room in its relaxing hue. She stretched, bones cracking, as she turned her neck. She sat up in bed, back against the wall, and began unraveling her leg bandages. Fresh, creamy skin was revealed underneath, as if untouched by the world and its elements. Only a few hours ago, she recalled it as sore and ripe. So, she was pleasantly surprised. This advanced healing was a marvel.

She got on her feet and was equally surprised at her steady balance. No headache, dizziness, or even slight weariness plagued her. She felt…

Well...just as fine as ever.

She had the sudden urge to test her strength, so she dropped to the floor and began some basic pushups. They came at great ease. She switched to one handed pushups and found they too were easier than she remembered them being, not that she really ever did them that often. After breaking out into cold sweats and feverish headaches, while rolling around in bed fairly recently, it was strange how difficult it was for her to sweat now that she was trying.

She grew bored of the exercise and headed into the bathroom. A quick glance at the mirror showed her ragged, greasy, bed hair. Distressingly enough, parts of it were still caked in blood. She hopped in the shower, letting the water wash away what remained from her battle. Ami had cleaned her immediate wounds before bandaging yes, but there sure was a whole lot of it everywhere else. The pink tint eventually faded from water after vigorous scrubbing. And when she stepped out, she felt anew.

Stepping back into her room, she dressed herself in some comfortable house clothes. Finally, she felt ready to take on those chores that had been swept aside. Perhaps if she finished them quickly enough, she could call Rei and take her out on that date. It was only around six in the evening. She still had time.

She was still squeezing what moisture she could out of her hair with a towel, when she padded out of her room. She almost tripped over a foreign object resting on her floor. The object let out an indignant 'ooph' noise to express its displeasure.

"Usagi-chan?" yelped Makoto in surprise.

She found her princess sprawled out on the floor, eyeing her with a blank stare. "SrryMakchan," mumbled Usagi halfheartedly.

On the couch, Rei was splayed face down, arm hanging down towards an exhausted looking Minako lying on her back on the floor. Ami glared at the ceiling, appearing as nauseous as ever in the arm chair.

"What happened to you guys?" gaped Makoto.

"Same thing that happened to you," muttered Minako.

"There was a youma," started Ami. She closed her eyes tightly, as if bracing for a headache that never came. "I mean, five youma."

Rei's muffled voice corrected, "Seven."

"Right. Seven." Ami rolled over with great effort. "Since there were so many of them at one time, we all had to use more magic than we were used to. And we're definitely feeling the effects."

"Tell me about it," agreed Usagi tiredly. Never had she used three Silver Moon Crystal Power Kisses in a row. And if it was up to her, she wouldn't ever do it again.

Makoto shuffled her feet, unsure of how to proceed. "Umm…can I get you guys anything?"

"Food."

"Water."

"Aspirin."

"A gun to shoot myself."

Usagi, Minako, Ami, and Rei mumbled at the same time.

"Uh…sure of course."

She gave them each some painkillers and a glass of water, as well as a cookie for Usagi.

"We're sorry to be here unexpectedly, especially while you're recovering," apologized Ami, as she swallowed the pills gratefully, "But none of us wanted to be discovered passed out at the battle scene and this was the closest safe area."

"Don't worry about it," reassured Makoto, "You guys are always welcome here. And forget about my recovery, I'm doing fine. I feel better than ever."

"At least one of us does," groaned Rei miserably.

Makoto crouched next to the arm of the couch and picked up the ignored glass of water and tablets. "I'm sorry I don't have a gun in my house, Rei-chan. But just take some aspirin instead, please?"

"Just let me die," groused Rei.

"I know you don't like medication, but it'll help your headache. Please? For me?"

Rei shifted up grudgingly and snatched the pills. She grumbled incoherently under her breath, but still swallowed. She laid straight back down and turned her back away from the rest of them.

"See? That wasn't so hard."

A brusque grunt was her only reply.

Makoto shrugged and resumed caring for the rest of her poor, wiped out friends. She picked up her sleeping princess with ease, deposited her into the bed and phoned their prince to come pick her up. Out of all of them, she would probably recover the quickest. Or Makoto at least assumed that she would.

She figured it might be better to ask questions later. She knew well enough what her friends were all going through.

She got out her two sleeping futons for Ami and Minako and laid them on the floor. There was a bit of protest out of the two of them when they were picked up, but they didn't fight too hard. And they were especially thankful to be placed onto the more comfortable surfaces once it was over. She got more pillows and a blanket for Rei who just gave up arguing and went to sleep.

The brunette retreated into the kitchen to fix them all something to eat. It must have been one hell of a battle. She was almost sorry she missed it. Almost.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Portal

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Nineteen - The Portal

_And then they were gone. _

continue.

* * *

Mamoru arrived at Makoto's apartment, sick to death with worry. Usagi assured him multiple times that she was fine and just tired, though it did nothing to ease his obvious distress. After sitting through a few more moments of his worried tirade, she interrupted and said that she just wanted to go home.

Minako and Ami expressed a similar desire to return to their own home. Makoto's hospitality was nice and all, but Minako wanted to crawl into her big fluffy bed with her big fluffy pillows and never emerge again. And Ami wanted access to her personal computer to document their recovery and compare her notes on Makoto's, when she didn't feel like throwing up, of course.

The prince and fighter helped the beaten trio into the former's car. After thanking Makoto profusely for caring for his fiancé, he sped off. Makoto returned quickly to her apartment to see how Rei was holding up.

"Rei? Are you hungry?"

"No, I'll never be hungry again," she growled miserably.

With a forced cheerfulness, Makoto announced, "There's soup whenever you feel up to it."

The effort in the brunette's voice smoothed Rei's edginess slightly. But only slightly. She sighed heavily. "So, this is how you felt yesterday."

"I was passed out for most of it, but yeah, it was something like this," nodded Makoto understandingly, "I'm all better now though, so you'll probably be okay by tomorrow."

"Oh god, tomorrow…" groaned the battle worn woman loudly. In the state the she was in, she couldn't even fathom having to deal with her birthday. The activity…the blondes…the annoyance…

"I know it feels bad now, but I promise it'll go away when you get more sleep," assured Makoto earnestly, "You'll wake up feeling refreshed, and we'll all have cake."

"And when another seven super youma show up, it'll be a regular party," groused the firebrand.

"Come on, Rei, don't be like that," pouted Makoto. She was just trying to be optimistic.

The disappointment adorning the fighter's features managed to soften the shrine maiden a bit. Though she refused to give up her petulant scowl, her words relented, "…Fine, we'll beat them up and then have cake."

"That's my girl," smiled Makoto. She stopped briefly to plant an affectionate kiss on her irritable girlfriend's forehead. With unsurprising ease, Makoto swept Rei up and carried her into the bedroom. The disgruntled protests were present, but half hearted.

Her inclinations to complain as much as possible were slowly being smothered by both Makoto's incessant hopefulness and the overpowering magical exhaustion. The sheer indignity of it all gradually faded behind closing eyes and relaxing whispered reassurances.

"Everything's going to be okay. All four of you are going to feel all better when you wake up. The weather is going to be wonderful. And there won't be a single youma to muck up our wonderful day."

Everyone, but Usagi was feeling under the weather the next day. It was easier to feel that way, since the weather was so terribly cold and gloomy. There wasn't a youma, but the day was young.

It wasn't what Makoto had been hoping for, when she hung up the phone with Usagi. The princess felt fine and was ready to start the day. Ami and Minako, on the other hand, were still reeling from the effects of their magical duress.

Her optimistic outlook had taken a hit at the news. But luckily, Usagi had more to spare. She reminded the brunette that it was only the morning. The sun could still come out and all of their friends could still recover by the afternoon.

Makoto reluctantly agreed, but still advised Usagi not to come over just yet. Rei still hadn't woken up and probably wouldn't be too happy to be disturbed. That was a battle best left avoided. The Senshi had enough done enough fighting for the time being.

The fighter shuddered at the thought of what her friends had gone through.

She could hardly imagine Ami inducing a full scale, yet isolated super blizzard for ten minutes. Shabon Spray lasted, at maximum, six minutes. And Shine Aqua Illusion and Aqua Rhapsody were short powerful bursts like all of their former attacks.

According to Usagi, when Ami and she arrived, Rei was melting metal in her hands, and Minako was firing off Crescent Beams every five or so seconds.

Every five seconds? Heating steel to its melting point? What the hell were these youma made of anyway? She and Rei had enough trouble with two of them, much less seven in a rainstorm. A few months ago, they could take out just about any demon with two or three strategically placed attacks. Now, they had to conjure up natural disasters just to make it out alive, all while sustaining injuries that should take weeks or months to recover from.

Luna and Artemis were right. They had more power because they needed it. But how did those two know? And where in hell were those damn cats lately anyway?

Makoto's concerned musings were interrupted by the sound of shifting in her bedroom. She darted towards the door, as Rei opened her eyes.

"Hey there, sleepy-head," smiled the emerald eyed woman gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Shitty," was Rei's gruff reply, as she struggled to sit up.

Makoto sat down on the bed next to her grumpy girlfriend. "I'm sorry to hear that, Rei-chan. Can I get you anything?"

"No, just sit with me for a little bit," groaned Rei, slumping back down.

"Happy Birthday, by the way."

She received an incoherent mutter in response. It was disheartening to watch Rei have to suffer through the same sickness she had just felt. The raven haired woman looked absolutely miserable.

An idea popped in Makoto's head. Perhaps an early gift would help cheer her up.

"Hey, I've got a surprise for you."

As Rei forced herself to sit up, Makoto exited and returned with a large white flower.

"A Casablanca lily?" questioned Rei, marveling at the flawless blossom, "I thought they don't bloom until summertime. Where did you get one this early?"

A large grin swept across the fighter's face. "I grew it myself." She could hardly contain the pleasure and pride she felt at seeing Rei's astonishment. "That's part of the surprise. Here's the other part."

Makoto grasped the stem of the lily within a loose fist. Her face became a portrait of immense concentration. On what, though, Rei hadn't a clue.

Soon, a gasp escaped the shrine maiden's lips. The base of the flower began to glow a pale green. Another stem began to grow off and sprouted leaves before their eyes. The side of the brunette's mouth crooked into a smile. Her eyes narrowed even further, as a bulb appeared and opened into a brilliant white blossom. Two more stems with two more buds shot off the plant and bloomed out enormous ivory petals.

Makoto finally released the breath she had been holding and relinquished the plant to her stunned girlfriend.

"Surprise! It's actually a bouquet!" She coughed a bit, trying to catch her breath. It took more than a little bit of magical energy to perform the feat, and she was still technically on the mend. "I was going to throw out my dead houseplants a while ago and imagine my surprise when they started to glow."

"They're beautiful," was all that Rei managed to sputter out.

"Well, so are you," said Makoto. She closed in to give Rei a quick peck on the cheek, but was stopped. The raven haired woman took a hold of her chin and turned her face.

Their lips had only just made contact, when Rei doubled over with another massive migraine. Makoto slumped in barely veiled disappointment. She gently retracted the flowers from underneath the groaning, reeling mass and took them into the kitchen. Returning with the lilies in a vase, she set them on the bedside table. She sat on the bed and began to stroke Rei's hair comfortingly. Leaning into Makoto's open embrace, Rei breathed heavily through gritted teeth, as she rode out the waves of pain.

"Happy Birthday, Rei," said the brunette, planting a kiss on the top of the agitated firebrand's head.

* * *

"Minako-chan, I said 'get up,'" came the muffled sound of Ami through the blonde's door.

"Idunwanna," mumbled Minako, face down into her pillow.

The door crept opened, revealing a haggard looking bluenette leaning against the frame. "It's almost three. It's Rei-chan's birthday. We have to get going."

An arduous moan was Minako's only reply.

"I know, I'm not feeling very well myself, but Usagi-chan is here."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Hey, I resent that!" called the approaching voice of their princess.

Minako drew the blankets higher and turned. "You'll get over it."

"Someone's crabby this afternoon," huffed the odangoed blonde, "You'd think it was Rei-chan under those covers."

"And I resent that. So there." Minako took a moment to stick out her tongue toward the duo, before turning her back to the door.

"If you're both quite done, we should get going to the shrine," sighed Ami wearily.

"Rei-chan's still at Mako-chan's," mentioned Usagi.

"Of course she is," mumbled the figure under the covers.

Ami bit her tongue, so as not to betray a reaction. Though, it more than likely would have gone unnoticed, due to Minako's melodramatic refusal to address the day.

Usagi plopped down on the bed. She had made sure to bounce the mattress a few good times, much to the dismay of the exhausted blonde. "Yeah, Mako-chan says she's still not feeling so good either."

Minako was starting to realize that her attempts to ignore them were proving futile. With a sigh of defeat, the covers were pushed down. "And how about you?"

"Me? I'm fine. A good night's sleep and I feel great." Usagi said this a bit too innocently, trying to get a rise out the blonde.

Minako blew her bangs out of her face unceremoniously and growled. Usagi giggled, and a pillow hit her face with an indignant thud. She was about to retaliate, but Ami stepped in before a pillow war could escalate.

"Stop it, you two," reprimanded the bluenette, "If Mako-chan's recovery is any indication, we should be fine soon. Now, let me see your bandages." Checking on the blonde's wounds was all she could do to stay awake.

Minako shifted up in bed and let Ami unravel a long bandage from her arm. One of the youma got a good, deep swipe into her forearm. Stung like hell before, but it seemed to be fine now.

"So, if they're both at Mako-chan's, are we abandoning our original plans?" asked Minako.

"I don't know," shrugged Usagi. She was originally supposed to take Rei out to the movies and shopping while the other girls decorated the shrine. But if Minako was _this_ cranky, she could only imagine in horror what it would be like to try to get Rei up to do anything. So, she was just going to let the others decide what to do that day. "Mako-chan just told me to get you over there, that's all. Today, I'm just doing what I'm told."

After rewrapping the bandage, Ami flopped on the bed as well. She stared at the ceiling, trying to keep her eyes open. With a yawn, she spoke, "Seeing as she's the most able-bodied and able-minded at the moment, perhaps she has something in mind."

"Great. Let Mako-chan handle it. Good idea." Minako rolled over and closed her eyes.

"Hey, wait a minute!" said Usagi, bouncing up and down on the bed to rouse her weary companions. "Don't just go back to sleep!"

It took a lot of coaxing for Usagi to finally get them to Makoto's place. Almost an hour of it actually, but she did it.

Much to Makoto's dismay, they looked almost as beat up as they did when she last saw them. With the exception of the fresh bandages and clean clothes, Ami and Minako looked disheveled and exhausted and Usagi had to practically prop them up from both sides.

The brunette led them straight to the sleeping futons left out from the night before. They crawled into them without protest.

"Wow, I'm sorry I got you guys out of bed now," cringed Makoto.

"No, we should be here," yawned Ami tiredly, "We have to help with the party."

"What do you need us to do?" asked Minako halfheartedly.

"Are you kidding? I didn't think you'd be this bad. Just lie down for a while. Rei-chan's sleeping anyway. She won't know the difference."

Makoto didn't need to tell them twice. Without another word, the exhausted pair returned to their former sleeping futons on the floor.

Usagi popped up behind them. "What about me?"

"I don't know, Usagi-chan. Maybe we should just reschedule."

"Oh, come on, Mako-chan. Don't give up. We can still put together something great, just you and me."

The statement seemed to lift up Makoto's dulled spirits a bit. Usagi had a way of doing that. While her optimism wasn't always infectious, it seemed to catch on in this case.

"Thanks," smiled the brunette, trying to recapture a semblance of positivity, "You're right. I'll just have to get cooking now to catch up. Do you mind taking over for Mina-chan and getting the decorations?"

"Of course! Since I don't need to keep Rei-chan busy, I've got plenty of time."

Makoto surveyed the kitchen and handed Usagi a short shopping list. She had more than enough to get herself started on the cooking, even though she seemed to be out of some key baking ingredients. She got cracking, as soon as Usagi closed the door.

* * *

"Let's see...eggs - check, powdered sugar - check..." Usagi mumbled to herself, scanning the contents of her grocery basket. It would just be a quick drop by the party supply store for some balloons and junk and she'd be good to go. She didn't get lost, break anything, or get attacked by vicious drooling hell-beasts. She had a hard time finding the napkins at first, but all in all, it was a smooth and successful shopping trip.

Usagi paid for the items and idly recognized the checkout clerk. Maybe, she had saved her from an evil grocery monster who was stealing energy or eating people's dream crystals or heart seeds or something.

"Oh right...avocado droid!" she recalled, as she stepped outside into the parking lot. She was glad she remembered. It would have bugged her for a little while, till she could ask one of the other Senshi. Compared to the winged super harpies they faced the night before, an avocado monster seemed kind of silly in retrospect.

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a glint of a crescent moon. She stopped and saw two felines running past her a short distance away.

"Luna?" Usagi mumbled, recognizing her wayward cat. The two paid her no notice, as they darted onto a side street.

When the odangoed blonde set the groceries in the trunk of her car, it occurred to her that she hadn't spoken to either feline in a few days. They may not have heard about the attack from the night before or the youma that took out Makoto. She wasn't sure if they were planning on making it to Rei's birthday either, which she needed to tell them was moved to Makoto's apartment. So, she closed the trunk quickly and took off after them.

She caught sight of them still running in the distance and called out. The throng of the crowd and noise of the cars in traffic smothered the sound her voice. She kept in pursuit and saw them dash into an alley.

Where were they going anyway?

"We're here," she heard Artemis's distinct voice call out.

As she turned into the darkened backstreet, she saw a large flash of green light. Had she blinked, she might have missed it.

"Luna?" she called out to the empty alley. She went up and down the narrow pathway, searching. There was no exit, just three large concrete walls surrounding her. She had sworn she saw them come in this way.

But the two felines were no where to be found.

* * *

"Hey, Mina-chan."

Usagi poked the sleepy blonde again. Minako rolled over and let out a disapproving grunt.

"Wake up. I need to ask you something."

For the second time that day, Aino Minako barked in an uncharacteristic tone, "This better be good, Tsukino!"

The odangoed blonde winced slightly, but pressed on. "It's important. Do you know where Artemis is?"

"What?"

"Do you know where Artemis is?" she repeated.

"How should I know? In case you haven't noticed, I've been trying to sleep." Minako pulled the sheets over her face in a huff. "He's probably with Luna or something."

Usagi sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall. "Yeah, I saw them together. I think they jumped into a portal, that's all."

The covers flew off. And this time, Minako's eyes were wide open. "Say that again?"

"I followed them," revealed Usagi, "I wanted to talk to them, but they disappeared in a flash of green light. Unless I tailed another pair of black and white cats with crescent moons on their heads running like crazy into a dark alley."

A sick feeling hit Minako in the pit of her stomach. "No, it can't be..." She sat up and ran her hands through her tousled mane. "Oh god...it probably was."

"They wouldn't knowingly rush into danger without telling us," said a voice from behind them. The pair of blondes turned. A serious looking bluenette peered at them intently from the sleeping futon a few feet away. "Are you sure of what you saw?"

Usagi gave every detail from the grocery store to their disappearance.

"What do you think it means, Ami-chan?" whispered Minako.

The struggle was apparent on the genius's face. "It means they're hiding something again."

It was the answer that neither blonde really wanted to admit. They wanted to trust their feline mentors, but their recent behavior wasn't helping.

"Artemis hasn't been around much lately."

Usagi agreed. "Neither has Luna. She doesn't say much about where she's going or what she's doing lately. And honestly, I haven't had a chance to just ask her."

"I've been a bit curious about their activities myself," admitted Ami. "Though, I don't know if asking them outright will yield any useful information."

Usagi released a heavy sigh and found that she had to bite back some developing tears of frustration. "Why do they have to lie to us like this?"

"If they're keeping anything from us, they probably think it's for a good reason." Minako hesitated, but added, "Whether or not that's true."

"Are either of them joining us tonight?" asked Ami.

The blondes looked at each other and shrugged defeatedly. The bluenette continued in a hushed volume, "I'd recommend we don't bother Rei-chan about this today. We won't know anything, until the two of them come back. There's nothing we can do."

"Should we at least tell Mako-chan?" whispered Usagi. The three of them could all hear the chef clacking around in the kitchen.

"I wouldn't recommend that we do that yet either," resolved Ami. She knew Makoto well enough to know that the anxiety would be written all over her face.

Minako silently agreed. Rei would probably figure something was wrong, if Makoto was being all edgy. "We'll just have to be discreet about-"

A shrill cry from the bedroom cut through her words. The three Senshi leapt to their feet and barreled into Makoto's room.

Inside, Rei sat up in the bed with eyes full of terror. She choked for air, trying to recover from what seemed to be an intense shock. The Senshi looked around, but there was nothing in the room. Before they could reconcile their confusion, Makoto bolted past them, heading straight for the bed.

The brunette grabbed the shaking shrine maiden by the shoulders. "Rei! Are you okay?"

Rei blinked, finally registering her surrounding companions. "I saw it!"

"Saw what?" asked Usagi, still unsure of whether to be on guard or not.

"The place where all the youma are coming from," swallowed Rei, trying to shake off the horror, "A demon dimension."

The Senshi gasped simultaneously. Minako stepped forward. "What exactly did you see?"

Rei closed her eyes, trying to recount the vision that came to her. She had been tossing in a restless sleep, in and out of dreaming. Finally, she settled into a simple dream where she was laying out seed for the crows while Makoto was practicing her martial arts. It was a peaceful, warm morning at the shrine. The fighter had called out to her and asked what she wanted to eat for lunch. She was about to respond, when the crows flew away suddenly, panicked. She had just registered the shadow on the ground. Dark clouds began blotting out the sun. When she turned her eyes back to Makoto, the brunette was gone. The shrine was gone. Everything was gone.

Rei stood alone on a craggy plain of dried, dead earth. The mangled steppe stretched out for miles with only torn, jagged peaks showing in the distance. Crimson lightning crashed amongst turbid yellow clouds. Behind her, a sickly bellow shook the ground. She turned around. And she saw them.

Scores of hideous creatures wandering the plain. Some roaming aimlessly. Others fighting amongst themselves. Crying out and railing against each other, in mindless fury. All of them emanating carnal evil.

"They were everywhere," choked out Rei, recalling the horror. "Youma after youma. On the ground, in the sky. Hundreds spanning as far as my eye could see. But they didn't see me."

She remained a mere spectator to the nightmare. Waves of burning energy came shooting down from the sky, igniting a a single roving youma. A crowd leapt upon it, feasting on the unlucky victim, tearing bloodied flesh.

The ground began to rumble and the clouds parted slightly, revealing a giant black orb in the sky. A dark moon.

Another ball of energy crashed down onto the earth, but this time, it left a glowing imprint on the plain. A nearby beast reached curiously into the smoldering neon scar and was enveloped in light. And then, it was gone. Both the youma and the energy vanished.

Rei knew instantly what it was.

It was a portal.


	20. Chapter 20 - The Recollection

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Twenty - The Recollection

_It was like this the first time we died._

continue.

* * *

Makoto had excused herself from the meeting to take Rei's birthday cake out of the oven. They had been in the middle of another intense and emotional discussion/argument that was going nowhere, when the kitchen timer buzzed.

The waft of hot air and the aroma of melted chocolate wasn't doing much to calm her nerves, but it was better than being in her bedroom at that moment. The atmosphere was tense, to say the least. Usagi kept acting like she was going to be sick. Ami never looked so nervous and agitated. Minako's words were grim, matching her deadpan face and slumped shoulders. And Rei...her eyes were so full of rage.

The conversation was cyclical.

_We have to find Luna and Artemis._

_But we don't know where they are!_

_They have everything to do with this portal business. We have to find them somehow!_

_But how? _

_Why are they doing this?_

_We don't know until we ask them!_

_But we don't know where they are!_

Makoto wasn't sure how to feel. The only thing she could properly comprehend was an overwhelming sense of numbness. It was all too confusing. She was terrified at the idea of an army of rabid youma originating from a single location. She was angry that the felines were still keeping something from them and jumping into a portals. She was heartsick that this all had to overshadow Rei's birthday.

Instead of returning to the heated discourse, she stared listlessly at the cake resting on the countertop.

"Mako-chan?" called Ami. The brunette blinked rapidly, wondering how long she had been standing there in her a daze.

"I'm sorry, Ami-chan. I just..." She trailed off, finding herself unable come up with an excuse. She had claimed she'd only be a second and then, just didn't feel like going back in.

"It's fine," replied the bluenette, taking a seat on a kitchen stool. She propped her chin under her palm, elbow on the countertop.

There was a brief silence. Makoto stared at the cake, and Ami stared at the wall.

"Mako-chan, do you remember the night before D-Point?" asked Ami, out of the blue.

The question seemed odd, but the brunette nodded.

"What did you do that night?"

"I baked some cookies," recalled Makoto. "It was all I could do to pretend that we'd all come back alive to enjoy them. I did a lot of crying that night."

"I was spending time with my mother...I wanted to tell her," revealed Ami. "I wanted to say, 'Mom, I'm a Sailor Senshi, and because of that, I might not live through tomorrow. I have to go face evil because I'm one of the only ones who can. And if I don't, I'll never forgive myself.'"

Ami exhaled deeply, drowning in her troubled memories. "I stayed quiet throughout dinner, even though inside I was screaming. And then, she left for work. I wanted to beg her to stay. But I didn't."

"Ami-chan, why are you telling me this?" asked Makoto, fearing the answer.

"Because the sooner we find Luna and Artemis, the sooner we are to entering that demon dimension and facing an army of youma."

Makoto's heart sank. It wasn't fair. She and Rei just found each other. It wasn't enough time yet. She wasn't ready.

"I know we have to face this, but a part of me wants to pretend it doesn't exist," admitted Ami. "Like when Artemis comes home, Minako-chan and I will just say hello and ask him how his day was. He'd brush it off and give us some lie like, 'Oh fine, it was pretty uneventful.' Then, he'd just walk away and go to sleep. And we wouldn't have to talk about demons and portals or Senshi healing or anything."

Makoto felt the same way. A simple, mundane day spent with Rei was all she really wanted. But it couldn't possibly happen the way she needed, until they faced the evil and won. And that was far from simple.

Such anxiousness she felt. It really was like D-Point all over again.

Another realization jumpstarted Makoto. "You know, Ami-chan. Maybe, you're on to something."

"What?"

"We don't know what any of this really means yet. So, maybe you're right. Maybe just this once, we can just try and forget. Just for tonight, I mean. We can pretend that everything's okay." Makoto got on her feet and headed towards the refrigerator. "It doesn't have to be like D-Point. This time we're all together. And we have something to celebrate."

A tiny smile crept up on Ami's face, when she saw Makoto take out a large bowl of frosting. "Yes. We should make the best of it," she agreed quietly.

The bluenette rose and wrapped her arms around the taller woman. A sense of calm washed over them both. Grabbing the plastic bag at the end of the countertop, Ami retrieved the candles Usagi had bought at the store earlier that day.

Inside Makoto's room, the arguing died down. The futility of their situation wasn't lost on any of them. Emotions had been thrown about without abandon and were now replaced with empty exhaustion. Silence remained the victor over the previous flurry of words. And now three quiet Senshi remained there, tired and numb with frustration.

Ami's head popped into the doorway. "Hey, can you three come out here?"

The trio stared at the bluenette incredulously. Ami was smiling?

Minako couldn't fathom what the genius could have been smiling about at a time like this. "What is it?"

Ami retreated back into the living room. "Just come out. It's important."

Minako offered Rei help out of the bed, but was waved it off. The firebrand was apparently fine. Usagi was the first to exit and stopped in her tracks.

The lights in the living room were all off, but they still could see Makoto and Ami smiling bravely behind the dim candlelight of a large chocolate birthday cake waiting on the dining table.

"Happy Birthday, Rei-chan."

The five Senshi embraced, knowing fully what the gesture meant. In troubled times like these, at the very least, they always had each other.

* * *

A tired white feline leapt down onto an apartment balcony. The impact stung his aching paws more than usual, but he always landed on his feet. He hopped up onto the railing and made his way nimbly towards the cracked window. It was always left slightly ajar for him, enough so he could push his way through back into the residence he shared with two of his human wards. It was a relief to be back indoors. His day had been long, indeed.

"Hello, Artemis," greeted a solemn voice in the dark. He froze. The lights turned on to reveal a serious looking blonde sitting in the desk chair. She leaned back, fingers laced in her lap, staring daggers into him.

"Oh...uh hello, Mina-chan," he sputtered. "How was your day?"

"My day was informative," she answered vaguely, "And you? What did you do today?"

"Just spent some time with Luna. That's all." He made his way quickly towards his bed.

"See any youma on your outing?"

Artemis tensed visibly, though he tried to hide it. He hopped onto the pet bed and settled in quietly, acting as if he hadn't heard the question.

"Artemis, I'm still talking to you," spoke Minako sharply. She cut to the chase. "I'm going to need you to tell me about a portal. One that you and Luna were seen jumping into earlier today. It relates to a demon dimension Rei-chan saw in a vision."

"I don't-" started to deny Artemis.

"Don't lie to me. We all know you've been keeping something. And we all hate to be lied to."

Artemis finally turned towards her. "None of you are ready for it."

Minako leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "Try me."

"Shouldn't the others be here?" he asked, gaze darting around the empty room.

"Don't worry about them. Stop stalling and tell me everything."

"Fine," relented Artemis. He stepped off of the bed and stared coldly. "You say Rei-chan saw a demon dimension? Well, I'd bet my left paw that what she saw was Nemesis. Or what's left of it."

"Nemesis," repeated Minako. The name sounded eerily familiar.

Seeing the vague recognition flash across Minako's face, the snow color feline continued, "The tenth planet, fallen first to Chaos during the Silver Millennium. It bore the brunt of the evil and all that was human became twisted and deformed. Sentient beings weren't ever meant to bear so much dark energy for a sustained period. They became sick with it. And power mad demons like Beryl used them to attack the Silver Alliance."

"If this goes so far back, why are they still around? We defeated Beryl years ago."

"She and the Shitennou used them on the moon and were defeated by the Ginzoushou. When we fought them years ago, the Dark Kingdom didn't have the raw energy to bring them here again. So, they infected Earth humans and created a new army. The youma of the Dark Kingdom you fought years ago were created with whatever darkness was left. The youma from today's Nemesis are the result of over a thousand years of demons breeding and feeding off of a constant overflowing well of evil."

The words hit her like a punch in the stomach, but she made no outward sign. Keeping her face neutral, she hazarded to ask, "The youma we fought alone, without any powers…They came from Nemesis. Why weren't they strong enough to take any of us down?"

"They were infants," revealed Artemis, "Some only a few days old. The reason they sought you out was because you emanated power. They needed to feed on it."

"They attacked us for our magic," she deduced painfully.

"They were hungry. They need magic to grow. That youma you fought could taste Venus's presence all around you."

Infants. Baby youma. Giant, disgusting, menacing, rip-your-throat-out offspring of something even more dangerous. Minako felt sick. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, trying to contain the bile rising in her throat.

Artemis sighed. He had only been trying to protect them. "I didn't want to tell you like this."

The Senshi's jaw clenched. Through her grimace, she barked. "Just get on with it!"

"Sailor Pluto created the portals," he continued, "We provided her with your location, and she released the young youma."

_'After she drugged me and threw me in abandoned warehouse of course,'_ thought Minako angrily.

"But now something else is going on," admitted Artemis, "Portals to our world have appeared without our intervention. We don't know why or what it means, but Setsuna-san is extinguishing them before they reach our world."

Realization came crashing down on her. She opened her eyes and shouted, "The black moon!"

"What?"

"Rei-chan saw a black moon in her vision," explained Minako rapidly, "It shot down an, I don't know, a fireball or something. And the blast created the portal."

"Impossible!" he denied, "Luna and I have been watching the planet diligently for weeks and we haven't seen a black moon once!"

"Hey, don't yell at me!" huffed the love Senshi indignantly, "I'm the one who should be mad at you for lying. _Again_. When you promised not to."

"I never lied," he maintained, "I just withheld information. And I never made any promise not to."

"I can't believe you," she spat. Now he was relying on technicalities to justify his deception? "What's happened to you, Artemis? How am I ever supposed to trust you again?"

"Everything I do is for you!" he yelled back. "To make you stronger, to keep you safe, to help you survive! I don't make any decisions regarding your life lightly. And what would you have done had you known about Nemesis? Go there and be killed? You've been better off not knowing."

"We could have...I don't know what we could have done, but at least it would be something instead of nothing!" she argued.

"Luna and I are taking care of it," he insisted. There was no reason for the Senshi to get involved, in their opinion. It wasn't necessary and they weren't ready.

"If you were doing such a great job taking care of it all, Mako-chan wouldn't have almost been killed by Nemesis youma the other day! Setsuna-san obviously can't get to all of the portals. Did you know we had to face seven gargoyles last night?"

Artemis's tough facade was suddenly shattered. The youma were on Earth?

"No? Well, you would have known if you were around for us to talk to!"

"They're reached Earth on their own," lamented Artemis. His brain was rapidly running through the causes and effects, momentarily forgetting Minako. How could they have missed it? When did it start?

"If this continues, all is truly lost," he whispered in horror.

Minako picked up the cat by the scruff of his neck. "No, it isn't." Artemis met her steely eyes, centimeters from his face.

"Because first thing tomorrow, you're going to take us to Sailor Pluto. And we're going to stop this."

* * *

She had slept on and off all day. And then woke up in a fit from the most terrifying, realistic vision she'd had to date. It was no surprise to Rei that she wasn't getting any rest that night. The troubled shrine maiden sat up in the bed and brought her arms around her knees, keeping an eye on the slow rise and fall of her girlfriend's back, who snored lightly into the pillow, dead to the world.

It hadn't really felt like much of a birthday. She was another year older, but what did that mean? She could live three thousand more years or she could die this very week fighting off a swarm of hell-beasts. Rei didn't feel wiser or better, just different in a way she couldn't describe.

Makoto shifted slightly, burrowing herself closer into Rei's side. Yes, things were a lot different now.

She stared at her open palm and struck her thumb against her index finger. As if she was lighting a match, a small flame appeared. Her skin remained unburned, as she watched the fire dance along the sides of her fingers. The sight was mesmerizing. If it left her skin, it could destroy buildings. To hold such devastation in the palm of one's hand...It was strange. Yet, somehow comforting.

She closed her fist and the light was gone. A whiff of smoke trailed into the air. She waved it off, remembering suddenly that she could very well set off the apartment's smoke detector. That would have been pretty bad. She didn't want to wake Makoto.

Rei slipped out of the bed and crept quietly out the bedroom door. Stepping out onto Makoto's balcony, she greeted the cool night air. She allowed the fire in her blood to warm her. The moon seemed to grow ever larger, as she leaned against the railing. The sight of the white orb in the sky reminded her of D-Point.

All those years ago, they went charging into enemy territory and perished. Time seemed to move too quickly that day. It felt like they had only just teleported there, then in the blink of an eye, her three best friends were dead. It was incomprehensible how rapidly they lost one another. And as she took the final steps toward the battle that she knew would be her last, she could only marvel at how slowly everything seemed to move the night before.

That night, she had made a point to spend some time with her Grandfather. If he could tell something was bothering her, he didn't mention it. She wanted him to, though. If he had only asked what was wrong, she would have told him everything. She would have told him that she was a chosen warrior and that she had a duty to protect her princess and her friends. And because of all that, they may never see each other again.

Instead, they ate and spoke of trivial things. After dinner, her Grandfather excused himself and began to pray in front the Great Flame for several hours. Since the Fire Room was occupied, Rei went up to the roof and watched the waxing moon alone.

The minutes stretched on that night. She was left alone with the moon in the clear sky and her innermost thoughts. She barely slept at all, only nodding off briefly before she heard slow footsteps up the great staircase toward her home. Makoto spotted her on the roof and they stared meaningfully at each other, as if to say, _'I know how you feel.'_

Rei could tell her friend hadn't slept either. Swollen emerald eyes spoke of a night of crying. It struck the shrine maiden as odd that she herself didn't shed a single tear. It seemed like a completely rational thing to do on the eve of one's own demise.

She climbed down off the rooftop and approached the brunette, wanting to speak. Wanting to say something, anything. But nothing came out. Instead, Makoto put her hand on Rei's shoulder.

"It's okay, Rei-chan. We'll be fine. You'll see," she whispered unconvincingly.

Ami arrived next, trying hard not to look as haggard as she felt. Minako came shortly behind, eyes downcast, bright features dimmed, with hands in her coat pockets. The four of them stood uncertainly, knowing that the time was coming.

Minako looked up and gave them a weak smile. "Let's put on a brave face for Usagi-chan, whenever she gets here."

The bluenette chuckled quietly. "Of course, she's late. Rei-chan, you always said she'd be late for her own funeral."

Rei let out a wry laugh and felt a tear welling up in the corner of her eye. So, she was able to cry after all.

The sound of rapidly running footfalls carried from the the bottom of the steps. Each girl straightened, trying to compose themselves. None of them could stand to act too somber in front of their princess.

_"Rei?" _

The call snapped the shrine maiden out of her memories. She turned to see a sleepy eyed Makoto at the balcony door, waiting for her to speak.

"Come back inside. It's cold out."

Rei shook her head and cleared her throat. "I'm fine. Believe it or not, I have an easy time keeping warm these days."

A small chuckle escaped Makoto's chest. "I should have guessed."

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind. Rei sighed languidly, enjoying the comforting weight against her back. Makoto's cheek pressed against her own. "You _are_ warm."

Rei turned her eyes back toward the moon, watching the clouds slowly cover its light.

"That's too bad," she said softly, "You missed it. It was really pretty."

"It's okay, I've got it." She watched the fighter's palm raise toward the clouds. To Rei's amazement, they parted as beckoned. Makoto's voice rumbled in her ear. "You're right. She's perfect."

Rei's heart skipped a beat and she felt her face flush. "I should have guessed," she whispered to the brunette.

"I'll bet you Ami could make those clouds snow, and Minako could make the sunshine come out," grinned Makoto.

"Probably, but I like this just fine."

They remained for several beats, admiring the glowing orb for which they fought. In the name of the moon. For love and justice.

"Do remember the moon before D-Point?" asked Rei, "It looked exactly like this. I couldn't take my eyes off it."

A pang struck Makoto's heart. Another mention of D-Point. "So, that's why I found you sleeping on the roof that morning."

"Grandfather was praying, so I couldn't use the Fire Room. It was okay, though. It reminded me what I was fighting for."

Makoto released Rei and turned the woman to face her. The fighter spoke firmly, "We're going to be okay."

Rei's mouth curved into a bitter smile. "That's what you said then too."

More earnestly, the brunette insisted. "This time, I really mean it." She took Rei's hands in her own and peered down at them. "Back then, I wasn't sure whether I'd make it out alive. But now, I can't even consider it. I don't have a choice. I have to be here with you, and that's it."

"Makoto, promise me you won't be reckless tomorrow," implored Rei abruptly. "You were the first to go back then. I can't watch you die again."

"Hey, I just said we're going to be alright," complained Makoto.

"Promise me!"

The sudden, desperate intensity of those amethyst eyes left her briefly stunned. "I promise I won't act recklessly," Makoto relented.

With that, Rei's arms encircled Makoto's waist, squeezing tightly.

Though Makoto didn't mind the feeling of Rei's head buried in her shoulder, she unwrapped the woman's arms gently. "Rei, if you'll let me go for a second, I want to give you your birthday gift, while the moon is still pretty."

Rei spoke confusedly, as she released the fighter. "The flowers and cake weren't present enough?"

"They were part of it," coughed the brunette, suddenly awash with anxiousness. "This one, I wanted to wait to give you till the others left. But then, it didn't seem like the right time because of all the youma crap, and then, I thought maybe I'd wait till after, but now seems like it would be an okay time, since you're so worried about tomorrow and everything and -"

"Makoto. You're babbling again."

The brunette's face colored a light pink. She took a deep breath, trying to both subdue her embarrassment and calm her nerves.

"Anyways..uh here..."

Makoto reached into her pocket and retrieved a small rectangular box. Rei gasped upon opening it. A golden charm shaped like a lily shimmered in the moonlight. She took the matching chain in trembling hands and noticed an engraving on the back. She held it closer to her eyes, and it read, '_With love, Makoto.'_

Rei looked toward her bright red girlfriend, who scratched the back of her head and squeaked, "I hope you like it."

It was astounding to the shrine maiden that someone who had just a moment ago spoke so confidently about fighting for their lives could be so suddenly wrought with nervousness. And over what? A beautiful, heartfelt gift that Rei would have been crazy not to like?

"Of course I do, you idiot," she laughed, placing the chain around her neck. Makoto jumped forward to help her with the clasp. "Mako, I love it."

Makoto was about to release the breath she had been holding, when she was blindsided by the sensation of Rei's lips against her own. It had been a few days, and still she found herself floored every time she tasted that fiery kiss.

The raven haired woman pulled away and waited for her girlfriend to say something, but instead she was met with a goofy, dazed look. It was even more endearing. "You're right, Mako. We have to come back. I have to be here with you and that's it."

Makoto pulled Rei in closer and took another look at the moon. "We should get our rest for tomorrow. Let's go back inside."

"Wait," pleaded the shrine maiden, "I want to stay like this, just a little longer."

The emerald eyed woman shot her a gentle smile and whispered, "Anything for you." Raising her hand, she beckoned clouds further from the moon once more. She pointed towards the street lights and shot a small bolt towards one. The lights flickered and went dead. She knew in the back of her head that she should be saving her limited magical energies for the next day's fight…But the way Rei smiled at her made it all worth it.

Rei released a stifled giggle. The cheesy romantic gestures made her heart well up with happiness. She returned to Makoto's open embrace. It was the only place she wanted to be.

The moon watched over its children, shining down rays of hope upon them. Its natural white glow was the only light that remained as the fighter held tightly onto her dear one.


	21. Chapter 21 - The Travelers

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Twenty One - The Travelers

_Lead us into the unknown._

continue.

* * *

"Welcome, Sailor Senshi," called a voice from the darkness.

Though a murky, violet haze obscured their vision, the newcomers to the Gates of Time knew it could be only one voice.

"Long time no see, Sailor Pluto," answered Minako, the first to step forward. She added darkly, "Or perhaps it hasn't been too long for you and I."

"I wasn't expecting you this early," mused the green haired warrior, ignoring the barb, "But it is easy to lose track of the days in this place. Perhaps by another perspective, you're right on time."

Makoto inhaled, deeply and slowly, attempting to smother her tension. It irked her that, even in times of crisis, the Time Senshi managed to speak in riddles. They had barely clocked a single minute at the Gates of Time, and already she wanted to start yelling. But she had already promised to hold her tongue.

Luckily, Minako was far better at these things than she. Their leader replied deftly, "By my eyes, we're a bit late."

Pluto chuckled ever so slightly under her breath. "Shall we then?" The Senshi stepped back into the mist.

While her four companions followed Pluto through the unknown air, Makoto paused briefly, squinting into the suspicious vapor. A slender hand grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her forward. If not for their magical defenses, Rei's impatient touch might have burned into Makoto's skin.

The thick fog began to clear, as they walked into a new area. A single widened path stretched out before them. On both sides of it, lay a vast expanse of circular ponds walled off by sets of jagged blue rocks. The pools themselves varied in color and intensity, but they all exuded a similar sense of dread.

Usagi gazed at the still waters, fraught with uncertainty. "Pluto-san, what is all this?"

"Careful where you step," was all that came in reply. The mysterious Senshi led them further down the path. Inexplicably, she stopped. "Here we are."

The significance of the spot was indistinguishable to even Ami's analytical eye. The bluenette was quick to ask, "Where? Where are we?"

Pluto picked a seemingly random pebble off the ground and tossed it into one of the pools. Its sienna water began to ripple violently. Rei was the first to gasp, as the ripples began to take on an image. Within the murky liquid, she could distinguish the crimson skies and sickly clouds of the nightmare world she had foreseen.

"That's Nemesis, isn't it?" deduced Minako.

Sailor Pluto nodded. "I believe that is what you're looking for, correct?"

"Rei-chan?" Usagi turned to the troubled shrine maiden. "This is what you saw in your visions?"

"Yes, though I can't see the dark moon from this angle," affirmed Rei.

"Pluto-san?" implored Ami, "What can you tell us about Nemesis?"

"It is a place of great evil," spoke the old one solemnly. "Remnants of Chaos have been festering there for a millennia."

"Artemis said the same thing. How do we beat it though?" asked Minako.

"That I cannot say."

Rei's fiery glare narrowed. _'Cannot? Or will not?' _she almost uttered accusingly. She bit her tongue for a moment before questioning, "Can you, at least, tell us how to get there?"

"The path lies in front of you," answered Pluto, "Just step forward."

The five women gazed down at the pool they surrounded. The ripples were beginning to dissipate, leaving behind another unassuming puddle. The horrifying world faded back into a rusty stillness, but the memory of its true picture echoed on.

"We're not _really_ going in there, right guys?" asked Usagi anxiously.

"We kinda have to," shrugged Makoto. She looked towards Minako. "Don't we?"

Their leader nodded grimly. "We don't have much of a choice. We know where the youma are coming from and we have to seal their escape routes."

"Hold on, Mina-chan," protested Ami, "We don't have an actual plan. We can't just go in there blindly. For all we know, we could die the second we set foot on the planet. We don't know what we'll see."

"Pluto-san, you've been there before." Minako recalled Artemis's earlier admission. "And you've obviously lived to tell the tale. Is there a safe enough spot to land without getting mobbed instantly?"

"There are many paths into Nemesis. All hold their own peril."

A groan of exasperation escaped Minako's lungs in the form of a muted sigh. The whole 'spooky, mysterious thing' had been getting on her nerves as well, but she knew she couldn't show it. The air around her teammates was too fragile to break. She sensed Usagi and Ami's trepidation and could easily see the tension rolling off of Makoto and Rei.

She asked more concisely, "Can you send us to the least perilous part of Nemesis?"

"I believe I can."

The five Senshi exchanged surprised glances at the certainty of the answer.

"Then, we're going," resolved Minako with finality. She turned toward their hesitant strategist. "Ami-chan, I'm not raring to jump in either, but we have to do something."

"But we don't have any information!" argued Ami.

"Then, let's go get some!" blurted out Usagi. She took a step back, as the others stared, startled. Moments ago, she seemed afraid to press onward. But the initial apprehension in her eye was replaced by a sudden earnestness. "I believe in Pluto-san. She'll send us somewhere saf...okay. And well, we don't have to go around trying to kill a bunch of stuff, do we? Can't we just, I don't know, sneak around and see what we can find? And if we're in over our heads, we can just run!"

The other Senshi paused and considered. In her own way, Usagi managed to suggest a fairly reasonable plan. A fact finding mission. Try not to be spotted for as long as possible. Try to gather information on the planet and enemy. Return to the Gates of Time, when things go awry.

Rei looked to Ami instantly. "How long do you think you can maintain a fog?"

The inquiry caught the Water Senshi by surprise. "I-I don't know. I haven't tried it recently. I used to only be able to for a few minutes, long enough for us to get the upper hand. Now? There are, of course, a number of different variables, but if I had to put a number on it, maybe half an hour?"

"We may need every minute," mused Rei. "I'm not too proud to agree we should run if things get tough. We put up a fog and come back."

"Fine," confirmed Minako. "We won't directly engage the enemy unless absolutely necessary. But our primary goal is to find our way to the black moon."

The Senshi all nodded in agreement.

Minako turned towards Sailor Pluto. "We're ready."

The green haired Senshi tossed Usagi a key. "Keep this close to your heart. It will allow you to return."

Usagi clutched the key firmly in her hands. A pang shot through her, as she studied the familiar artifact. Someday, her daughter would need the same item. She had to keep it safe. Determination to stay alive for Chibi-usa's sake managed to quell some of her remaining hesitation.

"Here goes nothing," said Makoto, being the first to step into the murky depths. As soon as her shoe touched the water, she vanished in a trace of light.

Rei's jaw clenched at the sight. They had just agreed to be discreet and cautious, and here was Makoto impulsively rushing into danger as usual. The impetuous fighter was the first to die back then, but Rei wasn't going to allow it again. She stepped in quickly after.

"Thank you, Setsuna-san," said Usagi, following the two into the unknown.

Ami lingered hesitantly, until she felt Minako's hand slip into her own. The blonde gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Come on, Ami-chan. Let's do this together."

The pair met gazes and nodded before stepping into the void, hand in hand.

Sailor Pluto was left alone once again.

"Good luck, Sailor Senshi. I believe in you."

* * *

The five soldiers found themselves in what appeared to be a wooded area. Or at least the mangled formations seemed like trees. Eerie pink light cast down through the breaks in the strange, blackened growths. Enormous, gnarled roots littered their walking space, making it difficult to determine in which direction to proceed. The women were shaded in darkness. Hopefully, they remained unseen to any youma that would be traipsing about.

They hadn't really known what to expect when they stepped into the portal. But it certainly hadn't been this.

"Is everyone here?" whispered Minako. Her query was followed by four hushed confirmations from the shadows. Ami's hand was still in her own, so the bluenette was easily accounted for. The rest, however, she could barely make out.

"I'm going to take out my computer and run an analysis," warned Ami quietly, "It's going to let off a little bit of light."

The four women gathered around their strategist, trying to shield the light with their bodies and hide their position.

The bluenette typed as silently as she could. Her tiny palmtop scanned the area. The Senshi waited in tense readiness, until Ami let out a sigh of relief.

"It says there isn't a sign of life within fifty meters," she said at a normal volume, "Setsuna-san may really have dropped us off at the safest point in Nemesis."

Rei still kept her voice down, questioning, "Nothing at all? Are you sure?"

"Nothing moving, breathing, or giving off an energy signature except for us," confirmed Ami, "Just trees, if you can call them that. But beyond fifty meters, there could be any amount of youma."

"I don't like this place," said Usagi, nervously inspecting the spooky looking trees, "It's giving me the creeps."

"Better this than youma-ville," shrugged Makoto. She turned to Ami. "Can you get us out of here?"

"Give me a little bit more time to gather data on this plant life, and I'd be happy to," replied Ami. "Take a look around for yourselves. It's relatively safe."

Rei stepped out into the rose tinted light and studied her surroundings. The ground beneath her feet was rough and firm. She touched it and let the dirt run through her fingers. The gritty earth was similar enough to the dirt at home in texture, though it seemed to weigh slightly more. She picked up more and lit a small fire in her hand. The flame lingered, using the small amount of soil as fuel briefly before dissolving of its own accord.

The ground was somewhat flammable. Strange, but good to know.

Minako found herself entranced by the light. She summoned a small crescent beam and held it in within her palm. It, too, glowed pink instead of gold. She closed her fist, and the light dissipated.

Makoto remained in the shadows, watching over her friends with a cautious eye. Rei painted tiny flames along the terra firma, while Minako wrapped rose colored chain links around a tree root, testing its firmness. Usagi waited against a tree, clutching the Ginzoushou in one hand and the Time Key in the other. She held both items close to her chest. Ami's focus remained busy, eyes darting across the rapidly filling screen.

Green arcs danced across the fighter's fingertips, as expected. She put them away quickly, simply confirming that they were still there. As long as the lightning still raged within her, there wasn't anything else to do other than remain poised for an attack.

"There's a higher concentration of oxygen on this planet," spoke Ami finally. "It's in the ground and in the air, which will help make Rei-chan's attacks more effective. The air is obviously safe to breathe, but something in it's composition seems to bounce light a bit differently. I'm not sure how that will affect Minako-chan, yet. And the trees are positively ancient. They've appeared to have survived centuries on this planet."

"As long as they're not evil and trying to kill us," muttered Makoto.

"Mako-chan, these trees could be a link to the Silver Millennium," marveled the scholar in Ami, "This area seems to have been untouched!"

"So?" shrugged Makoto, who had trouble caring in the slightest about the damned trees.

"So, it means the entire planet wasn't affected by Chaos," noted Ami. It was an important discovery. "We may be able to travel for a little bit without running into anything evil, if we continue through neutral areas like this."

"At the very least, we have places to hide as we trek through this forest," spoke up Minako. "I prefer this to an open plain of youma."

"Which way should we head?" asked Rei.

"I'm not sure if cardinal directions will be of use here, but if I simulate Earth's poles in my computer..." Ami's fingers flew across the keyboard. She pointed in a direction. "Then, that is North. I'm getting faint energy readings East of here. It could be a youma, it could be the black moon. It could be an animal, if any exist on this planet. But we should head towards it regardless. It's the only lead we have."

"Let's head East, then," shrugged Minako. She climbed over a gnarled root and almost knocked her face into another, as she slid back down. She grunted in frustration. "It had be an obstacle course, didn't it?"

Rei followed her into the maze of knotted wood, idly considering burning it all to the ground. But in the interest of being discreet, as well as her respect for the ancient, she let that daydream float away. She heard a displeased growl to her right. Makoto glared at the low branches, swatting them away irritably. The fighter's balled up fists crackled.

The firebrand laid a hand over the brunette's tensed shoulder. "We have to remain hidden Mako-chan," she reminded, "If you blow up the forest, they'll see it from miles away."

Makoto grumbled something under her breath and let the arcs fade.

Rei picked up a thick tree branch off the ground and lit the top of it in a controlled burn. The makeshift torch helped them spot a slightly clearer path ahead of them.

The Senshi continued East in a cautious silence. The minutes seemed to stretch indeterminably.

Usagi considered asking Ami how long they had been walking, but the latter appeared focused only on the growing energy signature ahead. The genius's face appeared frozen in a portrait of grim concentration. After a mute eternity, the blue eyes finally blinked. Usagi stopped in her tracks expectantly, looking from her strategist friend to the path ahead.

There was a light in the distance. The forest was becoming less dense. Did they make it out so soon?

"It's close," revealed Ami, "Whatever the energy signature is, it's on the outside of the forest."

"Let's go, then," Makoto pressed forward with increased speed. She wanted to get the hell out of this place. The anxiousness was getting to her. As they reached the edge and the light became more apparent, Rei pulled her back by the wrist.

"Hold on," she said, motioning for Ami to proceed first. The bluenette, crept cautiously behind a row of trees and peeked out towards the clearing.

Minako, being the closest, was the only one to hear Ami's quiet gasp. She rushed toward the stunned bluenette and couldn't believe what she saw.


	22. Chapter 22 - The Nemesis

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Twenty Two - The Nemesis

_Time for a brief history lesson._

continue.

* * *

Rei peered out from behind a tree and finally spotted it. In place of the desolate, demon-infested plain of her vision were the eery remnants of long decaying architecture.

Broken pillars collapsed over crumbled stone bricks. Ruins of an ancient civilization...

"What in the hell is that?" marveled Makoto, from her left.

Ami quickly recovered from her wide eyed stare and began analyzing. Her computer ran hot with the volumes of new data. "It appears to be what's left of a building."

Minako focused nervously on the ruins. "What about the energy signature?"

Ami paused. "I think it's…inside."

Usagi gulped audibly. "Can't we just go around or something?"

"Don't chicken out on us now, Odango-atama," said Rei, taking the first steps out of the forest. "You know we have to."

Makoto followed close behind, without a word, fingers clutched with sparks.

"We fight to kill, if necessary," instructed Minako, as she stepped out of the shadows.

The five Senshi padded silently across the short expanse of dark brown grass and onto a beaten dirt path. Rubble lay strewn across all sides, though the layout seemed to indicate a walkway into the large structure. If there was once a door, it had long since crumbled.

Each woman treaded carefully, hands ready to unleash a flurry of magic at a moment's notice. The building still had large parts of its roof intact, so Rei lit another tree branch torch to guide them into the dark corridor.

As they stepped into the darkness, the silent tension rose. The only sound was of their echoing footsteps and hushed breathing. It was so eerily quiet, Makoto could swear she could hear someone else's heartbeat. She listened for any irregular sound, prepared to blast through any and all debris to make a quick escape, if anything were about to crumble upon them. It would be a disappointing end for a Sailor Senshi to be crushed by an ancient roof falling instead of in battle.

Minako had never stepped inside an actual cave before, but she imagined the darkness to be similar. If not for Rei's firelight, they wouldn't be able to make out any walls without feeling them. She wished she could flick on a light switch.

She stopped suddenly, and Ami bumped into her. The genius's confused face was evident by the glow of her computer screen. Minako whispered, "Hold on, everyone. I've got an idea."

Rei's eyes widened as Minako charged a beam of light, aiming it towards the roof. The Fire Senshi's heartbeat quickened in panic, fearing that Minako was going to bring the whole building down.

The light shot upwards and with precise control, Minako stopped it. The energy held and formed a ball, cascading the entire room in its rose tinted light.

It provided the wide coverage of clear illumination that a torch couldn't. The Love Senshi had managed to create a mock ceiling lamp.

Minako's breathing deepened. She recalled Ami mentioning something earlier about the air bouncing light differently. Whatever it was supposed to be doing, it made her crescent beam far more unwieldy than she recalled it being on Earth. "Okay, so keeping it floating in the air is a bit harder than I expected. Do you guys see anything useful?" She gritted her teeth and kept her focus on the ball of light above their heads.

The room was more cluttered than they had been able to tell by the single torchlight. Ami gasped and picked up what seemed like a piece of trash. She shook the dirt and thick layers of dust off the ancient artifact.

"It's a scroll, you guys!" Ami whispered excitedly.

Rei continued to look around. Similar articles were scattered about. "They're everywhere. Is that thing still in one piece? Can you read anything off it?"

Ami squinted and was able to recognize faint ancient text. "The words are still here, but I can't tell what they mean."

"Can we read it later?" called Minako. "For now, let's find that energy signature."

"But Mina-chan..." said Ami, analyzing the scroll on her computer. "This thing _is_ the energy signature."

"What?" Minako briefly lost her concentration against the surprise, and the beam discharged itself into the craggy ceiling. "Shit!" Pieces of it started to fall from the cracks.

"Everybody out of here, now!" yelled Minako. The five made a rapid dash for the entrance.

Luckily, the building stayed intact. Only a few pieces fell and not on any of them. The Senshi would live to be crushed another day.

Now outside in the light, Ami was able to see the text more clearly. "The scroll. I can't tell what it says exactly, but this is giving off the energy source we've been heading towards."

"How is a scroll giving off energy?" asked Minako, "It can't be alive, can it?"

"No, I don't think it's alive." Ami's brow furrowed in deep concentration. Archaic symbols littered the screen of her Mercury computer. The genius shook her head. "I think I can get a translation going..."

The four Senshi peered over the bluenette's shoulder curiously. The artifact made them all uneasy. Whatever it said, probably wasn't good.

"Wait!" Ami suddenly cried. "I think I have it." The genius squinted and read slowly as the translation appeared. "Within the magic, lies the key." She lowered the screen confusedly. "That's it. That's all it says."

"Within the magic, lies the key," Rei repeatedly slowly. Her mind raced desperately to find meaning in the phrase.

Makoto made no further attempts to mask her frustration. "Yeah, that's _real_ helpful."

"What could it mean?" wondered Usagi out loud.

"The energy signature is weaker now for some reason," mentioned Ami, "It's been fading ever since we got out of the building."

"Maybe we should go back inside," suggested Minako, turning her eye back to the dilapidated structure. They had nothing else to go on.

Makoto didn't like the idea one bit. The building almost fell down on them once, and she wasn't eager to press their luck again. Not with the princess around. Not with Rei. Her hand balled into a fist instinctively. Without realizing it, electricity began dancing across her fingers.

"Hold on..." spoke Ami abruptly, "The energy signature is back."

Makoto released her fist and the arcs faded. On Mercury's computer, the reading dropped. The bluenette looked up at her friend. "Mako-chan..."

"What?"

"Do that again. The electricity, I mean."

The fighter shrugged and summoned forth the some sparkling wide pressure. Ami gasped. "The scroll is responding to your magic. Mina-chan, make a crescent beam."

Minako followed in turn, and the reading became stronger. The symbols on the scroll began to glow. Without missing a beat, Rei joined in, holding a burning mandala in her palm. The glow became brighter.

Ami glanced amongst her friends. They all looked at her expectantly, each emanating their raw power. She met Minako's eyes and the blonde nodded at her decisively. The blue haired genius opened her hand and ice crystals began to form.

The scroll grew white hot in Ami's other hand unexpectedly and she dropped it to the ground. A transparent image shot upwards. A hologram. Within the glow of light, stood a man in trailing gray robes.

"It is the Thirty Seventh Day of the Neptunian month in the Millennium of Silver. And we have been unable to extinguish the plague. Today, marks a fortnight since the disease began to spread. I hope this message receives your highness well, though I fear it may be too late. Please, High Queen Serenity, we require your aid."

Usagi's breath caught in her chest upon she hearing the name of her long fallen mother. She dropped to her knee and crept closer to the phantom from long ago. The specter continued through a bitter smile.

"The Ginzoushou is rumored to heal, though I understand that we may be past that stage. I am the last Wiseman alive. You see, we have all been, but wiped out entirely with the sickness. We need the Ginzoushou. If it cannot heal us, then let it destroy us all. I beg of you."

Usagi's grip on the Ginzoushou tightened desperately. The man paused, as if in attempt to regain his composure.

"The royal court has fallen. Our armies have succumb, as have our civilian populace. I have hidden here beneath the Altarian Temple, trying to create a cure, but I have failed. I know not how many remain, but if they are not altered, I assume them dead. The youma have overrun our cities and they continue to destroy everything that we have worked so long to create. It shall not be long before they penetrate the temple barriers."

What appeared to be former outer walls, towered weakly over their surroundings. What was likely a strongly built enclosure once upon a time, was now a broken shadow of its former self.

"By the time you receive this message, I will already be gone. I refuse to be transformed into a demon like so many others. Therefore, I will be ending my own life. Let it be known, that I have done everything in my power to help my people. And now, there is nothing left for me to do. I am the final Wiseman of Nemesis and I will die as such. My only parting wish is for you to come cleanse Nemesis of its sin. Stop us, before the sickness spreads to any other planet. Please."

He choked out the last words, as if fighting through tears.

"Farewell, my High Queen. May the Gods be with you always."

The image shot back into the scroll. The glowing letters faded into unassuming black ink. And five stunned Senshi remained, too shocked to speak, as they stared into nothingness.

* * *

"This is all so fucked up!" cried Makoto, pacing amongst the rubble like a caged tiger.

No one argued the statement. They were supposed to fight their way to blowing up a black moon. Even though it was easier said than done, at least the objective was simple.

But now there were new unexpected variables thrown into it. Suddenly, there were peaceful forests and ancient ruins and dead guys begging for the Ginzoushou to either heal the planet or destroy it. Healing hadn't been an option before. Was it viable? Would it work? Was it worth it?

"We have to heal the youma," decided Usagi finally.

"All of them?" asked Minako, shaking her head vehemently, "Rei-chan said there were hundreds. Your body can't take that kind of strain."

"Healing them wasn't part of the plan," added Makoto, "We're here for the black moon."

"What if that's the only way to get close enough to the black moon?" countered Usagi. No one knew how to answer.

"We don't know what they'll turn into, if we try to heal them," noted Ami. "Artemis said that youma have been breeding here. If they were never human in the first place, what will that make them?"

Usagi stood firm in her assertions. "We won't know until we try."

Minako sighed heavily. "Maybe this was a bad idea. We should go back to the Gates of Time."

"And what?" spoke Rei. "If we turn back now, we won't have solved anything."

"Rei-chan?"

"Usagi-chan is right. We have to keep going. Or at least _try_ it on one." Even Usagi was dumbfounded that Rei was agreeing with her.

"Pluto-san has to know something about this," Ami asserted.

"Of course she knows!" exclaimed Rei, in obvious frustration, "But do you think if we go marching back there, she's going to have a change of heart and tell us something useful? She's told us everything that she wants us to know."

Minako, Ami, and Makoto knew that Rei had a point. Usagi waited, anxiously squeezing the Ginzoushou.

"Fine," Minako relented. "We'll keep moving until we...find a youma." It was difficult to squeeze out those last few words. She couldn't believe that they were going to _try_ any get into a fight with a monster. Minako looked to Usagi. "If things get rough, I won't hesitate to destroy it."

Usagi, not wanting to waste another word on argument, pressed forward. "Let's get out of here."

The five Senshi continued east, leaving the scroll and the Altarian ruins behind them.

Ami continued her vigilant monitoring of the landscape. Equipped with that knowledge that magic would bring them closer to their objectives, she kept one hand in a quiet state of ice-storm.

The grassy plains began to fade into rockier, more jagged earth. They could see cragged peaks in the short distance, blotting an orange sky. With each step onward, the Nemesis of Rei's nightmare began to slowly reveal itself.

"I'm getting an energy signal again," spoke Ami.

"Another scroll, maybe?" asked Minako.

Ami bit her lip nervously. "No, this one's definitely moving. It's fifty meters away and closing."

Makoto's ears perked up. "What do you mean 'closing?'"

The bluenette cleared her throat. "I mean, it's heading towards us. If I had to guess...it knows we're here."

The fighter tensed and her eyes shot towards Rei. An ofuda was gripped tightly in her hand. Would one of those even work on this planet?

"Which direction?" asked Minako.

"It's coming from the mountains," revealed Ami, "We won't be able to see it until it gets to the plain."

"Well, at least we'll be able to see it coming," offered Usagi, with a tinge of nervous energy.

"Wait! It's gone!" The bluenette cried out suddenly.

Minako jumped. "What do you mean it's gone? You said you just had it!"

"It disappeared..." Ami whispered in confusion. Then, her face went pale in realization. "Oh no! We have to move!"

The blue haired genius took off running. The four Senshi remained dumbfounded for only a moment before shooting after their companion.

"But why?" called out Usagi, trying to catch up to the frantic sprinter.

"Portal!" shouted Ami breathlessly.

Makoto almost tripped. Her mind didn't quite catch up with her feet right away. She looked at Rei again, who gasped before picking up the pace._ Portal? What was that supposed to mean?_ She heard Minako curse from her left. And then it hit her. There was definitely a youma. And it was on its way through a portal to Earth.

Like a bat out of hell, Makoto sprinted toward the mountain. It occurred to her that she hadn't run like this since...the first night. That night, running from a youma hellbent on ripping her to shreds, she had been overcome by terror. But not now. Not anymore. She was filled with something entirely different. Rage.

Rage for the former denizens of Nemesis, left without hope. Rage for the High Queen who never got her warning. Rage for her friends, pit against powerful foes without defenses. Rage for Rei, once so sick with fear. And for herself.

She knew Usagi wanted to heal it. The wretched thing didn't deserve Usagi's mercy. If the Ginzoushou was really as able as the specter had said, it would be better to level the whole planet. Everything they did...She hated them all.

Loathing and fury seethed off the surface of her skin, until only the lust for vengeance remained. It would be an icy afternoon in the bowels of hell before she allowed one of them to hurt anyone else on Earth.

Heal it? Not if Makoto got there first.

A new burst of determination exploded over the fighter's body and she surpassed even Ami's substantial lead. She saw the portal in the distance, growing larger with each spring forward. She could faintly hear Rei yelling her name from behind. The sound was smothered by the electric hum in her ear, as she leapt into the portal.

* * *

She crashed to the ground in a fury. The portal had not been so kind as to be low to the ground. Gruffly, she rose against the dust, searching for her intended target amongst the familiar shapes of Earth trees. She hadn't considered in what locale they would eventually reemerge. Were they even in Japan? She couldn't tell. And she didn't care. It was a park. They were on Earth. That was enough for her to continue the hunt.

Once, she had been the hunted. And now, she returned to the field with an arsenal of revenge.

A scream was heard from behind her. She raced toward the sound of human terror and finally spotted it. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that it was the same youma she faced on the dock that fateful night. It had those same glowing embers for eyes.

It paused and turned around, forgetting it's human victim. Expectant emerald eyes narrowed. She knew it could feel her magic. That's what it really wanted. That's what all of those slobbering beasts wanted. To feed on her energies.

"Get over here and fight me!" called Makoto, affording the terrified woman the opportunity to run off.

It wasted no time in charging at Makoto. The claws came down upon her. And she let them. Grabbing its knife like mitts in her own hands, she yelled and released a wave of current into the beast. The sudden force knocked both of them onto their backs.

The fighter's hands burned. The claws had pierced her skin deeply, but the electricity and her Senshi healing forced the wounds closed again.

"Mako-chan! Where are you?" she heard a cry from behind.

Shit. They had caught up too soon. The fight had only started.

Makoto leapt off of her back and charged at the youma. With the Senshi on her trail, she'd have to finish it more quickly. But in her haste, she made a careless move. The youma effectively dodged her lightning laced blow and landed its own.

She leapt back and touched the ripped fabric on her stomach. Blood had been drawn. She ignored her screaming skin and once again leapt forward into the raging demon.

It was stronger than she had anticipated. They met each other's blows, effectively managing to counter when the other seemed to gain the upper hand. This youma. It was different than the others. Smarter. More cunning. Perhaps, it wasn't as brainless as she thought.

Suddenly, it launched a blast of white hot fire at her. She threw a discus of electricity straight into the wave of energy. The incurring aftershock sent branches flying and caused the ground beneath them to shake. Makoto stumbled momentarily before jumping into a tree. The youma, encumbered by its sheer size, lost its balance and crashed forward onto the ground once more.

Makoto jumped onto the youma's back and released her arcing rage upon it. A few more seconds, and it would be gone. A powerful force knocked her off the demon's form and into a tree trunk. The youma sizzled, but remained alive.

The fighter's eyes opened and she saw Minako's hands still poised from unleashing her light beam into her teammate.

"Are you alright, Mako-chan?" she heard Ami call, against the ringing in her ears.

"Wha-" Makoto began to sputter. Her head was reeling from the impact.

"I'm sorry I had to hit you!" apologized Minako. "But why the hell didn't you answer us?"

The fighter saw the youma twitch and started to charge her fists again. Rei pushed her roughly back against the tree. "Stop it, Mako-chan! You've done enough. Any more and you'll kill it."

"It deserves to die!"

"That's not the plan!" snapped Sailor Moon angrily. The tone of voice took the fighter aback.

Ami was suddenly upon her, inspecting her gash. "We've been yelling at you to get out of the way, so the rest of us could wear it down."

Makoto hadn't heard their cries over the roar of her own fury. She had been so caught up in the fighting, she hadn't noticed them at all. A wave of shame overtook her. It had gone so far that her friends had to blast her off of the youma. What was she doing anyway?

Sailor Moon closed in on the beaten down demon. "Whether you like it or not, I'm healing this one." She began the motions of a Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss. The last time she had performed the move, her blood had been rushing with the fervor of battle. Her heart screamed its desperation to eliminate the threats advancing towards her beloved sisters. Driven by survival and fear, she had chosen to destroy.

She forced herself to calm. The incantation could also be used to heal, if she so willed it. She allowed her heart the ability to forgive. To cleanse. She could cleanse them, if she tried.

Makoto took in a shaky breath. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Usagi look so angry and disappointed. She leaned her head back against the tree and tried to subdue her adrenaline laced nerves. She closed her eyes and tried to sit still. Every muscle in her body wanted to rush forward and finish the job. But her mind and heart couldn't go against Usagi's wishes. Not when her Princess looked at her like that.

"I know you're mad, Mako-chan." Makoto opened her eyes and saw Rei, gazing pleadingly. "But destroying this youma isn't going to get us closer to the black moon. You promised me that you wouldn't act recklessly. Please."

Eyes downcast, Makoto slumped. "I'm sorry, Rei-chan."

"Everyone! Look!" called Sailor Moon.

The Senshi turned their attentions to the former youma. It wasn't dust. It wasn't a person. It wasn't dissolved into nothingness. All that remained was a green gemstone no larger than a fist.

Minako bent down and picked it up. "A stone? That's it? That's the youma?" She held it closer to her eye and gasped. "It's swirling. Like there's something inside of it!" She rushed it over to Ami.

Ami inspected the rock. "Peridot," she identified simply, as she stared deeper into the swirling innards.

"Do you think the youma's trapped in there?" asked Rei, squinting at the glowing motions of the stone.

"What do you mean trapped?" Sailor Moon stepped forward. "I didn't try to trap anything, I wanted to heal it."

"Hmm...I think Rei-chan might be on to something," noted the bluenette, as her computer flashed its new data. "It's the same unique energy profile that the youma was giving off. But the quality is different. It's not evil. It's not good either. It's neutral."

"Did Sailor Moon heal it or not?" asked Minako.

Ami nodded. "I think so. It changed forms, but this is still our youma. I don't quite understand why it's a stone, though."

"Maybe Setsuna-san will know," suggested Minako.

Rei frowned. "I doubt she'll tell us if she does."

"We should try anyway." Minako agreed that Pluto wasn't always the most useful source of information, but it didn't hurt to try. "We still need to go back to the Gates. The portal closed behind us, and we need to return to Nemesis. We're not finished."

Makoto rose immediately. She hadn't much to say on the youma turned to stone, but she was itching to get at the black moon. The gash on her midsection was rapidly closing, though it still stung. The pain didn't matter, they needed to get back to their objective. "Then, let's go."

"First, I need to know you won't run off like that again," said Minako, meeting her eye, "We can't afford to act impulsively, Mako-chan. I mean it." Makoto scowled and crossed her arms querulously. She wanted to argue, but she caught Rei's gaze and stopped herself short.

"Fine," growled Makoto, turning away from the group. "You can turn all of those dirty bastards into rocks, for all I care."

Their leader tried to contain her frustration, but her clenched fists and jaw gave away her smothered tension. She loosened her tightened fingers and turned towards the princess. "Sailor Moon. Let's move."

The Moon Soldier raised the Time Key in the air and allowed the warmth ripple through the air. The team of warriors disappeared, leaving only the battle scarred trees in the their wake.


	23. Chapter 23 - The Cleansing

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Twenty Three - The Cleansing

_We can save them. We can save them all. I know we can. _

continue.

* * *

"Setsuna-san?" called out Sailor Moon, into the murky void.

"She's not here," answered a solemn voice from behind them. Two felines stepped through the fog.

"There were more portals that popped up on Nemesis," explained Artemis, "Pluto-san is off closing them."

"Shouldn't you be on Nemesis, as well?" questioned Luna.

"We jumped through one of the portals in pursuit of a youma. We'll have to start over. But first..." Ami took out the stone and dropped to a knee. The cats peered at the peridot cautiously.

Luna's eyes widened. She whispered in awe, "A soulstone?"

"Tell us where you found this," demanded Artemis suddenly.

Minako knelt down, glaring at her guardian cat angrily. After all the lies and betrayals, she didn't like his tone of voice. "First, you tell us what it is."

"It's a human soul," answered Luna right away, "Torn from an person whose death was corrupted by magic."

"Corrupted?No!" Sailor Moon protested and tried to clarify, "Not corrupted. _Healed._ I didn't tear out its soul, I healed it."

Ami elaborated more concisely, "Sailor Moon healed a youma with the Ginzoushou, and this was what was left behind."

Artemis took a step back. "A youma?" He turned to Luna and whispered in awe, "It's still in them."

The Senshi stared inquisitively down at the black cat, who explained, "We thought all humanity was lost to Nemesis ages ago. This is extraordinary...The subsequent generations of youma, tracing back from the Silver Millennium have never walked a step in their lives as human beings. But even as they've evolved and mutated, they've still retained this shred of humanity - their souls."

"Then, we can still save them!" decided Sailor Moon quickly.

Makoto couldn't believe her ears. She was used to Usagi jumping to conclusions, but this was a leap. "By what? Turning them into stones?"

"No, by letting their souls rest," insisted the Moon Senshi earnestly, "The Wiseman from the scroll - he said that the Ginzoushou could heal Nemesis. We'll find a way to heal them all."

"Your priority is the black moon," reminded Luna, "Eliminate the source of the portals, before anything else."

"She's right, we have to go back in before it's too late," nodded Minako, wasting no more time in heading toward the rippling gates.

"Wait!" cried out Sailor Moon, as the others moved to follow Minako. They turned. "We're not killing anything this time! They're humans. I want to make that clear."

Makoto looked poised to protest, but Rei held her back. The raven haired woman wasn't going to let her slip past again. She shot the agitated fighter a withering glare. And despite the petulant scowl, Makoto appeared to still.

Ami observed their silent exchange gratefully. Forbearance might very well save the impulsive brunette's life. She, herself, had lectured Makoto innumerable times on the value of restraint in battle. Jumping in front of attacks meant for others or using up all of her energy in a few blows wasn't going to work out forever. But the logic never seemed to penetrate that thick skull, before it was bashed inward again.

She made a mental note to thank Rei, after they got out of this mess. Though she would prefer Makoto would just listen to reason, she was satisfied that the brunette somehow responded to the firebrand's barely veiled indignation.

Minako was the first to reenter the portal, with Makoto hot on her trail. Rei and Usagi lingered for a moment.

"Thanks, Rei-chan," the bluenette heard Sailor Moon whisper.

Rei nodded. "I'm not letting her break her promise."

"What about you?" questioned the Princess, "Do you want to kill them too?"

The shrine maiden sighed. "I think I've had enough death for one lifetime, Usagi-chan. Come on, we've got a demon horde to face."

The duo disappeared in a flash of light.

Ami steeled her courage. They would take care of each other. She believed in Usagi. And for now, that was enough.

After watching the last of their wards walk knowingly into mortal danger, the felines turned toward each other.

"Do you think they can do it?" asked Artemis.

Setsuna stepped through the mist. "They have to."

* * *

The Senshi sprinted through the blackened woods without abandon. They had to make up for lost time. Within the hour, they had made it to the Altarian ruins and continued their travel towards the stony mountains. They didn't stop running, until they reached the rocky crags.

The five panting Senshi gasped for air at the base of the mountains.

Minako was the first to catch her breath. "Ami-chan. Is there a way through or around this?"

Ami scanned the peaks. "There's no way through. I think the quickest way past them is up and over."

"Think we can make it?" asked Rei.

Ami leapt high into the air, landing firmly on a flattened rock several meters above them. Some rocks and dirt trailed down the hill, but her footing remained sound. There was the answer. "We shouldn't stop in one spot for too long, lest we cause some bigger rock slides. Hurry, but try and be careful."

The warriors trailed up the mountain with increasing speed. It would have taken normal humans hours to make it to the peaks. The Senshi stood together on the apex, scanning the horizon within minutes.

"There it is," exhaled Makoto. In the distance, they all caught sight of their goal. The black moon hung low in the sky, casting its shadow over the jagged lowlands.

At her side, she could hear Rei's breathing speed up. Instinctively, her hand sought out the shrine maiden's. Amethyst eyes met emerald, trying to calm shaken nerves.

"There's so many of them," marveled Sailor Moon, eyeing the droves of youma littering the plain.

"Too many," lamented Minako, "We won't be able to make it to the black moon without a fight or two hundred."

"All this magic, and we never learned to fly," muttered Makoto bitterly.

"Magic...Within the magic lies the key," recalled Ami. The gears began to turn in her head. "The scroll was onto something. Magic is the key to everything here. The youma…It's the one thing they all want. And we have it. So, why don't we give it to them?"

_'Oh, just blast the youma. What a novel concept,'_ thought Makoto, before remarking, "Don't we always?"

Ami shook her head. "No, not with force. If they really feed on magic, then let's show them some. And while they're all busy with it, we make it to the black moon."

Minako muddled over the notion. "Distract them, huh?"

"We need a sustainable energy source," mused Ami, "One that can act independently of us, while we run for it. I can mask us in fog while the youma are occupied."

Minako wished she had something sustainable to volunteer. But keeping that ball of light floating in the air earlier had been too much of a challenge to even consider maintaining it while running away.

Makoto similarly pondered how she could integrate a storm into the mix. Keeping it going from a safe distance was where her ideas fell short as well.

"What can we use...?" puzzled Ami.

"You said that there's more oxygen on this planet," reminded Rei, "My fire can spread fast."

The Senshi looked around. Rei had heat and oxygen, but what of fuel? There wasn't a tree in sight. The blackened forest was over an hour behind them. As far as their eyes could see, there was only dust and gravel.

"The ground." Rei recalled her experimentations in the dark forest. "The ground here is flammable. I'll raze the earth."

Makoto's eyes narrowed. "Torch the mountain. Let them see it for miles. They'll all come running."

"Are you guys sure about this?" hesitated Sailor Moon. The thought of running away from a burning mountain past a horde of bloodthirsty monsters sounded...well..._fucking crazy_.

"I'd love to stand here and come up with a better idea, but the longer we wait, the sooner a new portal is going to pop up and we'd be headed back to Earth again," sighed Minako, "We can't keep going in circles like that."

Ami looked towards each of her companions. It sounded about as good as any of the other ideas they had come up with this entire mission. "Are we agreed then? The mountain burns, and we disappear into the fog."

Four arduous nods followed. None of them liked the plan that much, but it was all that they had.

They had sworn to stop Chaos by any means necessary. Even if it meant raising a little chaos themselves.

* * *

The youma let out sickening cries, when they noticed the disturbance in the distance. Plumes of smoke rose from the violently burning peaks, enticing them forward. The flame had an alluringly magical quality to it. Their base instincts drove them forward to find out more. Many ran, others lumbered, some floated against the growing fog. But they all made for the mountain of fire that reached ever taller.

Ami led the way through the mist of her creation, using her scanner to navigate past the rabid youma. They had a couple of close calls. But because they made efforts to dampen their magical output as they ran, the demons managed to pass them by, without notice. They paid little attention to the murky forms heading in the opposite direction of the tantalizing light in the sky.

"Down on the ground!" whispered the bluenette loudly, hitting the deck. Her companions dropped to the dirt in tandem. A trio of winged demons flew above them, without mind to their presence.

The team rose and continued their quiet sprint, constantly veering in a serpentine fashion through the mists.

"We're almost there," called out Ami. They couldn't see it for themselves very well, but they could feel it. They were closing in on the black moon.

Rei thought she was going to be sick. The animalistic sounds of the rabid youma trampling each other to get at the light made her stomach churn. It took a great deal of energy to ignite the peaks. Would she have enough left, by the time they reached their destination?

A pained cry rang out. The fog suddenly thinned, leaving the warriors exposed. Their strategist had fallen, pushed to the ground by an unknown force.

"Ami-chan!" shouted Minako, rushing forward.

The bluenette looked up, coughing against the rubble below her face. When she blinked the dirt and sweat out from her eyes, she caught sight of Minako rapidly approaching. Above her friend lurked a ghostly semblance.

"Minako-chan, look at out!" she yelled.

Minako managed to avoid an unexpected blast, tumbling to the side. Violet streaks of energy tore into the ground by her feet. A pink flare bloomed in her fist, ready to exact a dazzling counteract. She turned back to launch her retribution at the enemy, but the demon was overtaken by a brilliant glow of white.

A chunk of tanzanite fell to the ground, replacing their foe. Behind it, stood Sailor Moon panting, Eternal Tiare still brandished.

"They're people! We can't-" Sailor Moon started to say. She was sent flying forward by a powerful wave of darkness.

Makoto leapt to Sailor Moon's side, launching discs of electric loathing along her way. Clusters of youma took notice of their scuffle and were beginning to gather around them. She kept her lightning focused on the closest ones, trying to hold the mob back from her dear princess. However, if the horde continued to grow as fast as it did, aim would soon become a moot point.

Rei started to run in a large circle, spraying trails of flames along the way, attempting to erect a great wall of fire. She was quickly halted in her tracks by a gargantuan, slithering reptile launching venomous tips at her. The spikes were frozen in mid air and knocked off their flight path by a streak of pink light.

Minako cried out between blasts, "Keep running, Rei-chan!"

"We'll cover you!" Ami called out from within a contained, snowy mist.

The giant snake once blocking Rei's trajectory was overcome by another Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss. The firebrand leapt over the aquamarine stone, wasting little time continuing her circular trajectory. An immense barrier of flame shot up in her wake.

Many of the youma outside of the blazing ring were repelled by the painful heat. Others pushed through the inferno, disregarding the harsh kiss of flames eating at scales, fur, and leathery skin alike. They made it through the obstacle, only to be shot between the eyes by the sharp pierce of a rose tinted chain. Some of the flaming demons fled toward the safety of a large pool of water that had formed on the ground. They sought relief from the heat within the pond, but were instead met with a vicious electrocution.

It might have been a winning battle, had the human warriors not been overrun. Wherever a single demon fell, three more took its place. The warriors kept the droves back from within their desperate little circle, but couldn't keep it up forever. It wasn't possible to kill or heal them fast enough.

Minako grit her teeth, using every spare second she had to check on her teammates.

Ami was frantically dodging a quintet of spiderlike creatures spitting acrid bursts of webbing at her. Thick, pointed shards of ice were thrown about, with little abandon, leaving the arachnids riddled with oozing wounds.

Makoto burst out from beneath a heap of swarming canines. Howls of discontent echoed from the felled beasts, adding to the scattered mounds of bloodied youma dust beneath the soldier's boots. More of the wolven pack leapt in their brethren's place, piling themselves upon their foe, continuing the brutal cycle.

Rei and Sailor Moon stood back to back, launching projectiles at those that broke past Makoto and Ami. A golden discus flew back and forth, slicing deeply into appendages. Sailor Moon had somehow willed back the tiara she had discarded during her ascension to Eternal state and was using it to leave as many debilitating, yet non-lethal injuries as she could. Rei had, surprisingly, joined her in this endeavor, using her flaming arrows to incapacitate instead of kill.

Minako had to admire their capacity for hope in the face of such impossible circumstances. Her team was barely hanging on. Escaping back to the Gates of Time was seeming like the only remaining option, but could they really give up now? They were mere paces away from the Black Moon. It was so close, it killed her.

_No. No giving up. They could still do it. _

"Get ready to cover your eyes, everybody!" she cried out.

Makoto sent another beast flying backwards before yelling back, "What?"

"I'll tell you when! We don't have much time! Trust me!"

Minako leapt to a clear spot and took a deep breath. A ball of light formed in her hands, growing larger and stronger with every heartbeat. It throbbed within her grasp, expanding into an unwieldy force. The energy tried to escape her clutches, spasming back and forth, restlessly struggling towards freedom. But she didn't dare let it go, not until it was ready. Further and further, she willed it.

She squinted against the gleaming intensity, shouting towards her friends, "Now!"

The warriors threw out their last blows and covered their eyes. The Soldier of Light's eyelids clenched against her own radiance. When the magnitude of the sun could no longer be contained, she launched it upwards into the sky. The powerful beacon pulsed, exploding its heavy tones like shooting stars.

Sickly screams were heard all over the plains. The youma recoiled, blinded and in pain.

"Run!" screamed Minako, upon opening her eyes.

The Senshi sprung forward, desperately launching themselves toward the Black Moon, leaving droves of stunned creatures behind. And soon, the target was reached. They halted, staring upward at the colossal sphere. It hung over them, ominous and sinister.

"What now?" choked out Rei.

Ami's fingers were already flying rapidly over her keyboard. "It's hollow!" she revealed suddenly, "We can destroy it from the inside!"

"Mako-chan?" Minako sought out the fighter's face. The Thunder Senshi's eyes narrowed at the unspoken order. "Do it."

With a nod, Makoto growled, "With pleasure."

Her arms flew apart widely, and thick arcs surged between her outstretched hands. Static gathered all around the Senshi, as the air itself became electrified. Makoto grit her teeth and channeled every bit of it into an ever growing conduit. The semblance of a dragon swam within the swelling current.

And then, she released it, funneling the unforgiving waves of electricity into the demonic sphere. The impact rocked the earth below the warriors, as they shielded their eyes from the falling debris.

An open wound appeared on the black moon and was quickly closing upon itself. As soon as Minako saw the tear, she called out, "Jump!"

The Senshi leapt with all their might into the newly created entrance. Several youma jumped after them, but fell short of reaching the inside. The ones that could fly were repelled by the electric charge of the black moon they had come to know. The wound had already healed itself. The door was closed.

* * *

The air inside was so thick and heavy, it was hard to breathe.

"We're in," coughed Minako.

"Good work, everybody," choked out Sailor Moon.

"And who might you be?" questioned a twisted voice from the darkness.

All five of them turned. Makoto and Minako stepped in front of Sailor Moon instantly, ready to shield her with their bodies.

"Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom," answered Sailor Moon authoritatively, "And the Sailor Senshi. We're here to free Nemesis."

"You're a bit late, High Princess," spoke the voice.

"Show yourself!" Sailor Moon demanded.

From the murky shadows, stepped forth a cloaked figure. His face and hands were hidden, yet his presence seemed eerily familiar. "You've come to bring me more power?"

"You heard the Princess," barked Makoto, "We're here to destroy this thing."

They were met only with the echoes of demonic laughter. The air became suddenly more dense and warm. The feeling of being crushed against a wall overtook their skins. But by what force?

Ami could feel herself shrinking backwards, as if being pushed. She released a blast of cold and pushed back. The invisible force was repelled, and she was suddenly able to breathe again. "Don't let it close in on you!"

The shadows were forced back by blue ice, red flames, green lightning, and orange light. The four surrounded Sailor Moon like a protective barrier. The white glow of the Ginzoushou emanated from the center.

Recognition could be heard in the demon's voice. "That light..."

"Who are you?" Sailor Moon shouted.

"This can't be," the figure growled, "The Sailor Senshi don't have this kind of power." He lifted his arms and sent a sudden gust of black energy against their magic.

The Senshi were knocked off their feet. They staggered up rapidly, rushing forward once more and forming a line in front of their Princess. They dug deep into their reserves and drove back the dark winds.

While her friends intensified their assault, Sailor Moon cried out louder, "Who are you?"

Crimson eyes flashed from within the darkened cloak. "You'll die!"

Ebony tendrils whipped at the four warriors, stinging flesh with an electric fury. The warriors screamed and stumbled back, but their wall refused to break. Wordlessly, they sought out each other's hands. Ami grasped Rei's hand, who clasped Makoto's, who reached for Minako's. They squeezed tightly and cried out in unison.

A multicolored glow burned through the opposing tendrils, pushing further through the void.

"Tell me who you are!" yell Sailor Moon once more.

The figure reeled backward, trying frenetically to repel the light. The atmosphere rippled. "I am the last Wiseman of Nemesis!" bellowed the host of apoplectic echoes.

Sailor Moon gasped, and the light of the Ginzoushou faded. It was _him. _

She ran in front of her friends, screaming for them to stop. The force of goodness emanating from their wall slipped past her figure. She could feel its monumental power, but its waves did nothing to harm her. Her comrades' pupils were replaced by vibrant shines, and their planetary sigils burned brightly upon their foreheads. It seemed her friends could no longer hear her, minds completely immersed within the magic.

The power was closing in. The Wiseman cried out in agony, as the glaring beams pierced through his defenses. The black moon began to shake and crumble around them, smothering the sound of Sailor Moon's voice with its destruction. She clutched her Eternal Tiare and hoped she wouldn't be too late.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" she cried desperately.

The youma outside all stopped what they were doing to stare. Across the plain, hundreds of demons halted in their tracks. They ceased their fighting, their roaming, their searching, and they gaped at the multicolored streaks of light cracking through the familiar black orb in the sky. The light grew ever brighter, blinding them once more, as it exploded into the sky.

It was the last thing any of them saw.

The Sailor Senshi crashed to the ground roughly, each rocketing into four smoldering craters. Eternal Sailor Moon's descent was lightened by the angel's wings on her back. She couldn't believe what she saw, when she opened her eyes.

The plain was covered with brightly colored gemstones. The sickly clouds had dissipated and each stone glistened against newly revealed sunlight. So many sparkling colors, glittered all around her. Never on Earth had she seen something so beautiful.

"Usagi-chan!" she heard Minako choke from her crater. The princess rushed over to her friend, ready to help her up, but she stumbled back, blinded by an intense shine.

She squinted against the brightness. It slowly faded, revealing her ocean eyed companion, who was similarly in awe of the glow emanating off her own skin.

"Are you okay, Mina-chan? You were glowing!"

Minako shook her head rapidly, trying to gather her bearings. The light faded away completely. "Residual energy, I guess. I'm fine, are you?"

Usagi nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay..."

"Ughhh..." they heard Makoto groaning from the next crater. They leapt to her side, but were forced back by the static in the air.

"Figures," muttered Minako, trying to smooth down her now wildly charged hair, "You're okay, right Mako-chan?"

"Rei-chan, is she alright?" muttered the reeling brunette. Minako and Usagi smirked at each other knowingly. Yeah, Makoto would be fine.

Usagi tried to rouse Rei while Minako checked on Ami. Thick smoke was emanating off the firebrand's features, while the bluenette woke up in a bed of snow. They were all alive and accounted for.

"What happened?" gasped Rei, gazing at the sea of gemstones.

"The youma," whispered Makoto in awe, "Usagi-chan, when did you heal them all?"

Usagi picked up an opal, squinting at it carefully. "I wasn't trying to heal them all. Just the Wiseman."

"Wiseman?" questioned Minako in surprise, dropping the ruby she had picked up. "You mean the guy from the scroll?"

"You healed him while he was in the middle of trying to kill us?" sputtered out Makoto.

"How could I not?" spoke Usagi, setting down the gem in reverence, "He'd been waiting a thousand years for it."

Makoto's jaw hung open. '_Leave it to Usagi to try and save everyone.'_ It was one of those traits that made the her want to follow the Moon Princess to the ends of the universe. She caught Rei's amazed stare. Apparently, the shrine maiden was feeling the same way.

Ami had popped open her computer to review the battle records. "I didn't have time to study this before. We went into battle so quickly, so I just left it running." Astute eyes scanned swiftly through the data. "The black moon...It was the epicenter of all the negative energy on the planet. It was like an amplifier. All the energy we produced...it amplified the Ginzoushou. The healing power must have been scattered across the planet, when the dark moon exploded."

With a mixture of exhaustion and happiness, Usagi fell backwards onto the ground. "Alright!" she cheered, thrusting her fists into the air triumphantly.

"It's over, then?" marveled Makoto, picking up one of the amethyst stones. It didn't swirl restlessly like the peridot youma. This one was calm. Maybe their souls were finally at rest, just like the hopeful princess said at the Gates of Time. "I was wrong, Usagi-chan. You really did save them all."

"No, _we_ did Mako-chan," smiled Usagi, "We all did it together."

The former people of Nemesis no longer had to suffer, encased in evil shells. No more portals. No more youma. Just quiet. The relieved warriors basked in the glow of the soulstone littered plain. Nemesis was cleansed at last.

Minako let an unencumbered smile overtake her face, as she turned toward her well traveled companions. They looked at her peacefully, awaiting the words that they knew were coming.

"That's it, everyone. Let's go home."


	24. Chapter 24 - The Beginning

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

Chapter Twenty Four - The Beginning

_You and me. This is where we'll start._

conclude.

* * *

She had fought hell-beasts barehanded, leapt carelessly across skyscrapers, and suffered enough gashes, broken bones, and heavy blows to the head to kill twenty men. She took this all in stride, only to go back for more. It would be easy to assume that there was nothing that could phase the warrior of Jupiter.

But, standing outside on the grounds of the Hikawa Shrine that evening, she found herself paralyzed. Immobile, with a wide eyed stare, she broke out in a cold sweat.

"H-hey, Rei-chan," sputtered Makoto, eyes trailing the plunging neckline of the firebrand's tight black dress. They paused at the Casablanca lily necklace adorning Rei's exposed skin, trying hard not to go any lower. "You look, uh-"

She lost her words. She suddenly recalled that one time, when a flame demon lit her Senshi fuku on fire, and she had to leap into a pond to put out the burn. Being lit on fire wasn't comparing to the stifling heat overtaking Makoto's body, when she noticed the way Rei swung her hips, as she approached.

The raven haired woman smirked at the tinge of scarlet adorning the fighter's face. She took in Makoto's full figure in her tight black pants and curve hugging blue halter. The stunned brunette looked absolutely delectable. "Thank you. You look 'uh,' as well."

Makoto scratched the back of her head and gave a goofy smile. "Um yeah, thanks."

Rei could hardly contain her amusement. It was a wonder that her girlfriend could be this nervous still. Sure, they had only been together for a few days and this was their first official date. But there was no reason to be so shy.

The fighter swallowed hard before clearing her throat. She offered her arm. "Shall we get going, then?"

Rei wasn't complaining. It was nice to be appreciated. The nervousness was so cute. It was so Makoto.

"Of course, Mako." The shrine maiden took her date's arm, and they proceeded down the steps.

The bushes were struggling to stifle their giggles. Or rather, Ami was struggling to stifle Usagi and Minako's giggles from behind the bushes.

"You'll give us away!" whispered Ami.

Minako waved her off. "It's fine, Ami-chan, they're already halfway down the steps. If they heard us, Rei-chan would be up here in two seconds to smack Usagi-chan with a broom."

"Me?" huffed Usagi, "Why just me?"

"She'd go for you first, giving Ami-chan and me the chance to run away."

"I don't think so!" bristled the odangoed blonde, "_I'm_ running off with Ami-chan and _you're_ getting hit. This was your idea."

"Oh, don't act like you're not interested," said Minako, rolling her eyes at their indignant princess, "It may be my idea, but you two are here in the bushes with me."

Ami released a heavy sigh. How she let Minako talk her into these things, she never knew. "I think it's safe to come out now. If we're really going to follow them, we should probably get going." _Why was she there again?_

"Alright! Commence 'Operation Love Waves Go!'" Minako flashed her V sign triumphantly.

"But Mina-chan, they're already together," pointed out Usagi. The 'Love Waves' had technically already 'gone' and there wasn't much meddling to be done anymore. "I thought we were just going to spy on them."

Minako lowered the V sign with a scowl. "Fine. 'Operation Catch Them In The Act Go.'"

"I think I'm going to go home," muttered Ami.

"No no no, you're coming with us," declared Minako, quickly latching onto Ami's arm to prevent escape, "Come on, it'll be fun."

_Fun? Fun was curling up on the sofa with a good book. Fun was riding a ferris wheel with a date. Fun was..._

The two blondes yanked Ami by the arm and dragged her off.

For the eighth time that evening, she wondered how she let Minako talk her into these kinds of things.

* * *

Rei thought she knew fine dining well enough. Her father had dragged her to enough fancy restaurants for her to learn quite a bit about five star cuisine. It was relatively interesting and remarkably tasty at times, but she always found herself without the ability to appreciate it. The meals were surely excellent, but were always soured by her father's company. Instant curry packages microwaved at home were always more preferable to an award winning meal with the insufferable Senator Hino.

Sitting Makoto was different, though. Suddenly, the atmosphere was all so fascinating. There was something to be said about every little thing, even the way the chefs laid the food out on the plate. Rei particularly enjoyed the way Makoto's squinted when she took the first bite of something new, as if she was concentrating really hard on the flavor before she swallowed. She had the same look of focus, whenever the waiter explained the ingredients of their next course, nodding in recognition at each word.

Rei didn't understand everything the food aficionados were discussing, but damn if didn't all taste amazing. And even better was the adorable way Makoto's mouth curved at the side when discovering something she liked in particular.

"What did you think?" asked Makoto as they stepped out of the restaurant.

Rei let out a deep breath and patted her stomach. "So good. So full."

Makoto laughed. "I'm glad you liked it. I've been wanting to go in there for a while, but I also wanted to wait for a special occasion."

"Tuesday is pretty special," smirked Rei.

"Yeah, but it's not every Tuesday that I go on my first date with a special lady." Makoto sought out Rei's hand. They met eyes when their fingers laced together. A gentle smile appeared on Makoto's face. "Come on. Let's take a walk."

The raven haired woman released a contented sigh. At that moment, she'd follow the earnest fighter wherever she wanted to go.

At the ramen shop across the street, Minako perked up. "They're finally leaving!" They wanted to follow the couple into the nice restaurant, but they lacked reservations and cash on hand. Thus, they waited it out by the window of the nearby noodle place.

"Hold on, I'm not done," slurped Usagi, downing her third bowl.

"Hurry up, or we'll lose them!" griped Minako. She turned back to the window and squealed suddenly. "They're holding hands, you guys!"

"Wow, I've never seen Rei-chan look that sappy," marveled Usagi, having finished her last gulp. "Mako-chan yeah, all the time, but Rei-chan? Wow."

Ami blushed slightly, remembering the intimate embrace she witnessed. She never did tell the two blondes about it.

The trio kept a quiet distance behind, as Makoto and Rei strolled serenely into the moonlit park.

Ami heard two noises from her left and right sides. Pleasant gasps? Shocked whispers? She couldn't exactly tell, but the tall brunette casting an arm around the shrine maiden elicited a simultaneous response from the two blondes. And before she knew it, she was behind a bush again, trying to keep her friends quiet.

"Did you hear something?" Makoto stopped and turned. The park seemed pretty empty, but she could have sworn she heard a voice.

"It was probably a rabbit or something," brushed off Rei.

When she didn't see anything, Makoto shrugged. "You're probably right. Maybe I'm still a little paranoid."

"We got them all, Mako-chan. No youma are going to pop out and ruin our evening." Rei leaned into Makoto's shoulder.

"Yeah, I like 'em better as stones," remarked the fighter. The corner of her mouth curved into a gentle smile. "Especially the amethyst one. Reminded me of your eyes, just not as pretty."

There was that fluttering in her stomach again. Rei had begun to cherish that feeling. "Wow Mako, that was pretty lame. What did I tell you about being so corny?"

"I should do it more often?"

"Oh, right."

Streams of white moonlight reflected off the ripples of the lake, as they took a seat against the trunk of a large cherry blossom tree. Makoto tipped Rei's chin up to meet her gaze. "But no really, I think it's my new favorite color."

"Green not doing it for you anymore?" asked Rei, content to lose herself in sparkling emerald.

The distance between them was slowly diminishing. "I like it just fine, but I think I'm ready for something new."

Just as their aching lips were about to close the gap, a squeal was heard nearby. Surprise shook the pair out of their romantic reverie.

"Okay, now I definitely heard something," concluded Makoto. Rabbits didn't make those kinds of noises last time she checked.

Rei stood up. "Yeah, me too."

They both silenced themselves and listened intently. Rei could almost make out the sound of stifled breathing.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" she heard Makoto say. Rei turned to see her girlfriend talking at the bushes.

Upon closer inspection, she spotted three sheepish looking pairs of blue eyes. And her world went red.

"Uh…Hey, Rei-chan. Mako-chan. Fancy meeting you two here." Minako giggled anxiously. Usagi scratched the back of her head, avoiding direct gaze. Ami, at least, had the decency to look mortified.

A flame appeared in Rei's hand. "You have one minute to explain to me why I shouldn't burn these bushes with you in them."

Usagi yelped. "It was Mina-chan's idea, I swear!"

"Shut up, Odango-Brains!" cried Minako.

The fiery gaze turned to the 'Goddess of Love.' "Fifty seconds."

"Okay, Rei-chan. Remember that day we talked about love waves?" rattled off Minako nervously.

"Forty seconds."

"Ah!" Minako squealed and spoke quicker. "And then there was that day that I asked you about seeing people's inner light? Well, it turns out that it's not about light, it's about if a person is in love or not and how much-"

"Thirty seconds."

"I was able to use my Venus powers to figure out that you and Mako-chan liked each other, but then all of a sudden, you were fighting. So, I figured I'd help by giving her a push to go tell you how she felt."

"Twenty seconds.

Ami and Usagi began stumbling out of the bushes. Rei's threatening stare was firmly fixed on Minako.

"And then maybe you guys would get together. But then the Nemesis thing happened. And now that the youma thing is all over, we just wanted to make sure that you guys were still doing okay after everything."

"Ten seconds."

"And we all think you make a totally cute couple!" blurted out Minako at the end.

Rei remained poised with a flame dancing through her fingertips.

"Rei-chan?" Makoto cut in. She stepped between the enraged firebrand and the meddlesome idiot. She met the burning gaze imploringly.

The shrine maiden narrowed her eyes and closed her hand, effectively smothering the flame. The red ribboned blonde watched with bated breath, as the remaining smoke trailed harmlessly into the air. They all shared a collective sigh.

"I, uh, think it would be best if you guys just go," recommended Makoto awkwardly, without taking her eyes off of Rei.

The uncertainty in Makoto's features spoke of her internal struggle to keep it together. Although she understood Rei's desires to ignite Minako by the bow, all violent urges were overwhelmed by her immense embarrassment. This wasn't the way she wanted to tell their friends at all. Hell, she hadn't even had time to think about it properly.

If Makoto had her way, they would have basked in their relationship privately for another week or two. They would have talked it over and figured out how to gently break the good news to each of their friends, one by one. This was a big deal to her. Rei was special, and she wanted to do things right for a change.

But all her best laid plans were usually shot to hell. By Minako more often than she liked.

Usagi's hesitant voice cut through her personal lamentations. "Yeah...we're just going to shuffle off then."

Incredible guilt was written all over Ami's face. "We're so sorry. We'll go now."

The pair dragged Minako out of the bushes. Minako looked like she was about to say something, but was effectively silenced by Ami and Usagi. They knew it was best to just shut up, cut their losses, and go home. And they did.

"You should have let me just kill them," groused Rei, still trying to smother her anger.

Makoto sighed. "I guess they had to find out sooner or later. I would have just preferred it was much later and not through the bushes."

"We heal fast now," muttered Rei, "I could have at least injured one of them."

"I think they learned their lesson," said Makoto, trying to sound reassuring, "On the bright side, they'll at least leave us alone for a good while."

Rei had to admit that sounded pretty nice. All she had been wanting was to just be alone with Makoto for a while. Without annoying distractions like youma or Minako. She wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist and nestled her head in the crook of Makoto's neck. "Stupid idiots."

Makoto drew her arms around the firebrand soothingly. She was relieved Rei's fury had calmed, but was even more disappointed that the romantic date had taken the unfortunate turn that it did. Elegant dinner, stroll in the park under a starry sky, a little bit of making out if she was lucky - it had been going well, until it got derailed by the blonde train.

"And Ami-chan too?" growled Rei suddenly, "She should know better!"

Yep, the romantic mood was pretty much shot. Makoto knew that Rei would probably be pissed off for the rest of the night. She couldn't blame her much either.

Makoto sighed and took one last look at the park. Maybe next time.

"Come on. Let's head back to the shrine."

* * *

The whole way back, Rei had been grumbling about the blondes and all the things she wanted to do to kill them. Most of those things involved fire in some way, shape, or form.

Makoto listened patiently, secretly entertaining the notion of charging all the doorknobs in Minako's apartment, so that she would be zapped every time she tried to enter a room. But at the same time, Makoto found herself actually grateful to the overzealous blonde. Minako was the one who had given the her the courage to approach Rei in the first place. The love waves thing was a strange concept, but they sort of helped her with Rei in a weird, indirect kind of way. So, it wasn't so bad.

The fighter waited as the shrine maiden began to unlock the entrance to her home, while continuing her incensed rant about the complete and utter invasion of privacy. When the door was opened, Makoto let out a small smile. "I had a nice time, Rei-chan. Before all of the drama, of course." She bent down and gave Rei a quick peck on the lips. "Good night. I'll call you tomorrow."

Rei frowned, as Makoto turned to take her leave. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

The brunette winced. She thought it was obvious. "Um...I was going to go home."

"No you're not!" spoke Rei loudly. "We're not done here."

"What do you-" Makoto was once again shoved inside the shrine. When her back hit the wall, Rei kicked the door shut.

Makoto melted against the fierce heat of Rei's lips against her own. When the firebrand finally broke the contact several intense moments later, the brunette was left a quivering mess.

"I-uh..." mumbled the dazed fighter.

"You're not going anywhere," declared the forceful raven haired woman. She grabbed the sputtering wreck by the wrist and dragged her down the hall. "No more fighting. No more youma. No more magical exhaustion. No more idiot blondes. I'm sick of it all!" She pushed Makoto onto her bed.

"No more interruptions." The door shut with a harsh finality, and an intense amethyst gaze settled on the wide eyed brunette.

Makoto swallowed hard and nodded. The light switch was flipped off and instantly they were bathed in the flickering glow of candle light. Emerald eyes darted amongst the five or six scattered candles that she hadn't noticed before. _When the hell did they get lit? _She, then, spotted a burning glow remaining on Rei's hand.

Her breath quickened, as the fiery vixen made her slow approach. Maybe it was a result of Rei's powers, but Makoto could have sworn the temperature in the room shot up suddenly. She could hear her own heart thudding rapidly in her ears. The sound was smothered by a breathy whisper, "I finally have you to myself and I'm not letting this opportunity go."

Makoto barely had time to exhale when she was overcome by the heat of Rei's kisses. Her eyes fluttered shut, as she buried her hands in raven tresses. She felt her hairband being removed, as her own chestnut curls spilled down her back.

Rei smiled into Makoto's lips as the brunette began to respond to her advances in kind. Makoto's unmistakable scent filled her senses. She seemed to smell of fresh rain, no matter what the season. Lips parted, granting further access to her tongue. And Rei once again tasted raw electricity.

Their mouths moved in slow, cautious exploration. Once several languid moments passed, the hesitation was forgotten, and their tongues assumed a natural dance. Discovery continued through their wandering hands.

The fighter eased the firebrand's lithe form onto the bed. Trailing kisses up and down Rei's neck, Makoto found herself driven by a strange and desperate need to taste Rei's soft skin. In turn, Rei's fingernails dug into the brunette's back, overwhelmed by the pulsing arcs that she knew to be of Makoto's touch alone.

Makoto bit down on the crook of her girlfriend's neck, eliciting a sensual moan. As soon as the sound hit her ears, she was jolted back into reality. She paused, eyes wide, as she realized where her hands were. Her fingers were reaching up the bottom of Rei's hitched up dress, resting on the woman's thigh, poised to continue their trek upwards. _When the hell did they get there and how?_

Rei's eyes shot open when Makoto stopped. She, too, guiltily extracted her meandering hands from underneath Makoto's shirt. She met her girlfriend's baffled, red face.

"I-uh..." Makoto found herself at a loss for words. The make out session had intensified a lot quicker than she expected.

The shrine maiden too was a bit surprised at the fact. They had been dating for-what? Like a week? They had only kissed a handful of times. She tried to count the number quickly in her head. It had to have been less than ten!

"Maybe we should hit the brakes..." muttered Makoto, still bewildered by how turned on she was. "I'm sorry about that, Rei-chan."

"Not your fault, Mako," dismissed Rei, as she tried to catch her breath. "I started it."

It was supposed to just be their first completely uninterrupted make out session. But _just_ making out. She hadn't intended to go that far so soon. She had no idea she'd lose herself so completely to Makoto's lingering touch. Her skin still tingled.

The fighter felt ashamed. Sure, Rei started it, but Makoto still felt like it was she who escalated it. She should have been able to control herself. "No, I shouldn't have-"

Rei silenced the brunette's lips with her index finger. She knew Makoto was going to instantly blame herself. "We both did. But, you're right. It's probably too soon to..." Her fiery gaze trailed down to Makoto's heaving bosom. That was a really great shirt and all, but Rei's traitorous hands still wanted it gone.

Makoto stood up, needing distance to clear her head. She wanted to take things slow and all, but it was so hard to, when her girlfriend insisted on wearing that skin tight dress. She tore her eyes from Rei's flushed cheeks and alluringly disheveled hair and stared holes into the windowpane. "Maybe I should just go."

Rei stood up and joined her at the window. "Don't go."

Makoto shot the raven haired woman a weak smile. "You've been my girlfriend for about five days. And for the majority of those days, we've either been laid out by youma or fighting another planet. It's too soon do something you might regret."

Rei had to wonder, if she really would regret it. If Makoto hadn't stopped, would she have minded? The shrine maiden puzzled over this, but none of her conclusions were going to allow her to let the object of her affection walk out that door.

But Makoto was prepared to bolt. Jumping into Tokyo Bay again was the only thing she could think of to calm her nerves. If Rei would let her, she'd run all the way there and dive in head first. Freezing water would serve to douse her desires quite effectively.

"Remember when Minako-chan's stupid face thing interrupted our 'talk' on the couch?" asked Rei.

Makoto nodded. How could she forget?

"If Usagi-chan didn't call us, I think it might have been the same," admitted Rei. "I don't think I'd want to stop."

Makoto's swallowed hard at the prospect. "We hadn't even had our first date yet."

"Yeah, I know," blushed Rei in return. "But, you know what's different about us?"

"What?"

"We've been together for years. Over a thousand years, if you want to be technical. Maybe not 'together' like this." Rei took Makoto's hand and squeezed. "But all the same, I know you. And you know me too. Like nobody else in this world does."

Rei drew her arms around Makoto and rested her head on the brunette's shoulder. She hesitated, but steeled her courage. "Maybe, it's not to soon at all to say that I love you."

Makoto took in a deep breath. The words sent her stomach into a flutter. She knew it wasn't just another fleeting crush, but love? She looked at the hopeful woman in her arms, and her heart jumpstarted. She supposed that feeling was good enough answer.

She loved her. Makoto bit her lip as she gazed down into Rei's vulnerable amethyst eyes. The beautiful shrine maiden held out her heart to the fighter. And Makoto wanted nothing more than to hold it close. Keep it safe. Forever.

Too soon or not. The time suddenly didn't matter. Whether Kino Makoto liked it or not, she was head over heels in love with Hino Rei.

"Maybe we're not early," mused Makoto softly. She didn't remember much about her life in the Silver Millennium, but if she was really the same person, she probably would have fallen for Rei back then too. "Perhaps, we're a over thousand years late." Rei's moist eyes threatened to overflow, as Makoto's hand gently stroked her face. "I love you. And I'm sorry it took me so many years to figure that out."

"Stop apologizing. You're always apologizing." The statement was met with a small laugh.

There was a peace in Makoto's emerald eyes that Rei had never seen before. She wanted to study it more, take in the unique expression longer, but those sparkling eyes soon closed, and she was drawn into a passionate kiss. She felt herself swept up into Makoto's arms and lifted off the ground. The tranquil gaze was replaced by a desperate longing. Rei knew how exactly how the green eyed warrior was feeling.

The shrine maiden was settled gently onto the bed. Makoto's weight came down on top of her form, once more trailing kisses along her neck. And once again the fighter found herself unable to control her desires.

"We really shouldn't," she breathed against Rei's neck.

Rei groaned at the feeling of Makoto's gentle fingers trailing her sides and shook her head. The zipper on the back of her dress was lowered. As the brunette's lips returned to hers, Rei could feel the front of her dress being tugged downward. Her own hands hitched Makoto's top upwards. They halted their ministrations to remove the garments. The blue halter came over Makoto's head and was tossed on the floor. Rei shrugged quickly out of her dress, discarding it, as if it was on fire.

The fighter's lips were everywhere at once on the newly exposed areas. Whispered words repeated against soft flesh, "Tell me to stop."

The firebrand's hands were busy undoing Makoto's belt buckle. Her tight black pants had been an excellent choice really. They showcased Makoto's long legs fantastically. But Rei no longer cared how they looked. At that moment, they were in the way.

She tugged downwards on Makoto's waist belt, bringing the pants down, but not completely off. She was having trouble with that last part. She needed some cooperation, but the brunette was otherwise occupied at with her collarbone. Rei put her hands against the Makoto's shoulders and eased the fighter away from her chest.

Before Makoto could think to respond, she was shoved onto her back. Luscious red lips came crashing down upon hers. She groaned, as her bare stomach and legs brushed against Rei's. Where'd her pants go anyway?

Rei was positively exhilarating. Her powerful presence dominated Makoto's senses. The intoxicating scent of sandalwood on her skin beckoned Makoto to explore her more. Only their undergarments separated them now. She'd have to drum up all her willpower to stop this. But she would. She'd do anything for Rei. Absolutely anything.

It took every ounce of sense she had left, but Makoto broke away from Rei's fiery lips. She stared in awe at the woman above her, who seemed surprised at being stopped, if not a bit irritated. A black strapless bra and black panties were all that remained clinging to the firebrand's slender form. She would have thought that it would be easier to breathe without the raven haired woman's lips upon hers, but the air was more stifling than ever as she gazed at the perfection straddling her waist.

"Tell me to stop, Rei," repeated Makoto.

Rei stared down at the curvaceous vision underneath her. Her eyes trailed the expanse of creamy skin, still partially covered by simple white undergarments. "Mako, you're so beautiful."

Makoto flushed scarlet once more. She still didn't get an answer. "Tell me now, or I won't be able to stop anymore."

Rei eased herself off the fighter and stood on the hard floor. Her fiery eyes never left the questioning verdant gaze. Her remaining coverings were slowly discarded amongst the pile of decidedly useless clothes on the floor. Emboldened by her exposure, she retook her position atop the stunned brunette.

"I love you, Mako. I don't want to stop this."

A newfound and fierce feeling of possessiveness beckoned the firebrand forward. Raven hair cascaded over them like a silken curtain, as she lowered herself down to reclaim the fighter's bruised lips. Within Rei's ardent heart burned a fervent need to prove definitively that Makoto belonged to her and no one else.

Her hands reached around the brunette's back, unclasping and removing the final obstacles to skin upon skin. Makoto moaned into Rei's mouth, as she felt searing hands brush the underside of her breasts.

Makoto could barely think. And suddenly, it didn't matter in the slightest. There were times she listened to her brain. There were times when she listened to her heart. But onward from the moment Rei began aggressively staking her claim, Makoto was steered only by the aching demand of her body. The other two could wait, until her senses were properly satiated.

Her hands now roamed freely up and down the shrine maiden's lithe figure, emanating trace amounts of electricity, as they trailed along soft skin. She didn't realize she was doing it, and neither did Rei, who's fiery touch left small burn marks wherever her hands lingered. With their increased magical defenses, there was no pain. And with their advanced healing, the marks faded almost as quickly as they appeared.

It wasn't until the morning, when Rei awoke against Makoto's powerful frame, that she noticed the singe marks all over the bedsheets. She tried glancing at her alarm clock, but found out quickly that it had been fried. Electricity in the air, no doubt.

Rei lamented her ruined sheets and broken electronics only briefly. She would have let the world burn down around them, if only to hear Makoto murmur her name so sweetly, like she had the night before. The experience was worth everything to her. While the slumbering amazon snored lightly underneath their ash spotted sheets, the firebrand snuggled against her warm back. Rei had no idea what time it was, so what was the point of getting out of bed when all she wanted and needed was right there in it?

* * *

Minako had never seen Rei so agreeable. Well, maybe, there was that one other time. Regardless, it was still somewhat disturbing. Though the blonde was fairly certain that 'bizarro happy robot' Rei was preferable to 'trying to revenge burn my face off' Rei.

Usagi, Minako, and Ami had showed up eight days after the 'incident' to test the waters with the tempestuous shrine maiden. At first, her hesitant blue eyed companions didn't want to go, but Minako insisted that the three of them needed to go together. They needed to 'see how pissed off she still was,' as she put so eloquently put it.

Ami and Usagi eventually relented, knowing that they couldn't hide from Rei's wrath forever. Depending on the heat of the flames, they would be able to gauge how much longer it would be, until they were safe again.

But instead of brooms and fireballs, they received a cheerful smile and lighthearted greeting.

Ami started off, profusely apologizing once again. Rei brushed it off like it was okay and asked if they wanted anything to drink. The blondes stared at each other, neither knowing what to do next. They were all expecting to be banned from Rei's presence for at least three weeks.

Yet, there she was, sweeping her cares away, completely unfazed by their company.

"You guys sure you don't want anything to drink?" she casually asked the bewildered trio. It was getting warmer out after all.

Usagi shook her head cautiously. It might have been a trick. She didn't know.

"So...uh...how's everything going?" Minako ventured to ask.

"Great. Everything's great," replied the shrine maiden, "What have you guys been up to lately?"

Ami and Minako glanced at each other and then at Usagi, who shrugged. "Oh, not a whole lot," she answered, "Classes are fine. Date with Mamo-chan tonight."

"Yeah," spoke Minako carefully, "Same old. I've got an audition later this week."

Ami muttered something non-committal about her internship, still perplexed.

_'Everything's great, how are you?' _

Not: _'If you don't get out of here, I'm going to force feed you this broom?' _

The bluenette had to ask, "Rei-chan? Are you…um…feeling well?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Hey, everyone!" called an approaching voice from the shrine steps. Makoto appeared before them, carrying a few shopping bags. "Good to see you!"

Usagi's eyes lit up when she noticed one of the bags carrying the logo of Makoto's restaurant. She was starving! "Hey, Mako-chan! What's in the bags?"

Makoto laughed and set the them down, retrieving a roll and tossing it to the jubilant odangoed blonde.

Rei came over and gave her a fond peck on the lips, ignoring their friends completely. Makoto, however, visibly colored, as she scanned the faces of her companions.

Minako nudged Ami with a devilish grin on her face, while the bluenette drew her focus down towards her shoes. Usagi let out a squeal of delight, but that could have been about the food.

"What are you looking at?" snapped Rei, in her trademark cranky tone.

Ami sighed in relief. So, Rei was still Rei. That was good…She supposed.

Makoto chuckled in pleasant embarrassment. "Do you guys want some lunch? There's a lot in here."

The question elicited a smile and nod from the bluenette and an approving whoop from the odangoed blonde.

"Hey, Mako-chan?" Makoto looked down to see the red ribboned blonde inspecting the contents of her other bags. "Why'd you buy so many sheets and alarm clocks?"

The fighter assumed a sudden, full body blush, and the shrine maiden snatched the bags roughly. "Never mind that, you idiot! Now get inside before I change my mind about forgiving you!"

The firebrand stomped off to the interior shrine, bags in tow. The inexplicably mortified brunette followed without a word, leaving the perplexed trio wondering what it was that Minako said.

"Sheesh, I was just asking."

Minako shrugged. Maybe she'd let that one go. They were officially forgiven. Makoto and Rei were officially together. And she was officially the Goddess of Love. She wasn't going to punch a gift horse in the mouth and ruin it.

They were all going to spend some time together as a group. It had been a while since they all just hung out. It was nice that things were back to normal.

"Why was Mako-chan acting so weird about alarm clocks?" wondered Usagi out loud, as the threesome proceeded indoors.

Nice and normal. Sort of.

* * *

What We've Lost And What We've Gained

end.


	25. The Sendoff

The Apology

_Because I'm super late again. _

_…_

I say I'll post a thing "tomorrow" on like Monday, then clock out on Saturday. Sorry, guys. Anyway, here's the revision and the 'things' I promised. Let's just say, it's been a rough week and the revision took like four times longer than I thought would. But, I'm glad to be able to finally close this sucker out.

* * *

The Opening Closing Notes

_Everything below is completely optional to read, ignore at will. Or better yet, skim the bottom part, then go to the next chapter. _

_…_

It's finally over. It took almost 100,000 words, but we made it. Phew.

If you've made it this far, you're probably aware that I can certainly ramble endlessly if given the option. And here's the part where I give myself the option! And I don't have to hold back because of spoilers, since you've assumably already read the whole thing at this point.

* * *

The Acknowledgements

_High fives to all._

_…_

First off, I'd like to thank all of my wonderful readers. There's been more of you than I had been expecting, so that's been pretty cool. It's amazing that even after twenty years, the Sailor Moon fanbase is still alive and out there. And in so many different countries too, wow.

Extra thanks to those of you who Followed, even though my normally predictable update schedule probably made it a moot point. And internet hugs those of you who Favorited. Being Favorited is pretty rad, I won't lie.

And most importantly, thanks to everybody who took the time to Review. I looked forward to posting each week because of you guys. You definitely influenced some of the revisions I made week by week (mostly I added MOAR VIOLENCE).

Special Props to:

x-Anon-T, Vchanny, PrincessSerenity101 - for being my A-List commenters for the last several months. Gold star stickers to the lot of you, you're my favsies.

* * *

The Revision

_Since mistakes sometimes I accidentally a word._

_…_

I've done one final sweep of the whole story and have uploaded it along with this last update. Every chapter is uploaded fresh and contains my attempt at fixing the remaining grammatical errors I've let slip by along the way, with minor revisions and formatting changes. There were A LOT of them and frankly it took me forever to finally finish grammar nazi-ing myself. I hope to have gotten all of them, but if I missed some errors, we'll just have to let it ride because I AM NOT reading this whole damn thing again. I've read through it way too many times and it's just friggin long.

I'm going refrain from rewriting sections for the millionth time. Stylistically, I wish I would have done certain parts differently, but it's time for me to finally just let it be and move onto something new. It's not perfect, I know, but I think I did an decent job for an amateur. I'll do better next time, pinky swear.

Because each chapter is replaced, the author's notes and review responses at the end are now gone. I was debating whether or not to copy/paste them back in, but ultimately decided that leaving them out would serve the story as a whole better. As much as I loved the silly banter at the bottom, I'd rather leave the story behind as one solid chunk that doesn't break voice. Also, it was enough of pain dealing with FFnet's Horizontal Line Breaks, uploading and formatting, thus copy/pasting my stupid rants at the end would have been more work. So there's a lazy reason too.

But I'll reiterate some of the points I've made in the past, as well as address a few questions in this rather lengthy closing section.

* * *

The Writing

_For those curious about the process (or lack thereof)._

_…_

I'd been working on this story for quite some time. It's been on my hard drive for…I don't even remember how many years, painfully unfinished. I'd work on it some, lose interest and forget about it for a couple of months, then pick it up again when the mood struck. Luckily, I hadn't posted any of it, because as a fanfic reader, waiting for Works in Progress for too long sucks. Plus, my first drafts of scenes were usually crap and needed heavy reworking - so I would have been too embarrassed to show it anyway.

At some point, when I was finally out of college and comfortable in my full time job, I rekindled my interest in Sailor Moon. The thriving tumblr community made Sailor Moon really fun for me again. I had more time and inspiration, so I finally finished this thing I never actually expected myself to complete and post.

So the whole thing was one big chunk of story that needed some heavy editing. My style kept changing, my writing kept wanting to be different, so I revised, and then revised again, and again…divided it into chapters and then realized, oh shit it's actually done.

I'm saying all this because the steady 'every Monday' updates had raised some questions about how the hell I managed to pull off writing a 3000+ word chapter every week. The answer is: I totally didn't. There was never a writing schedule or strict outline. What I actually did once a week was try and spruce up each individual chapter, proof it, write an author's note end cap, and do review responses.

If you're a writer and have been curious about my methodology, there it is - in all its sloppy, undisciplined glory. If I could pull this off, you can too. And if you're persistent and have good ideas, you'll do way better (and faster) than I.

* * *

The Ship

_A lengthy analysis on what was I smoking._

_…_

Who the hell ships Rei and Mako? Practically nobody. I didn't even consider the possibility, until I read a Nutzoide's 'Fallen Stars' series. If you haven't read it, you might like it. It's got Rei/Mako, Ami/Haruka (even weirder, but it worked), featuring Minako being awesome on the side.

Anywho, I tried finding another Rei/Mako fic because they were kind of a fun new pairing. The results were scarce. I wasn't surprised by this. And the ones I did read…well…let's say I didn't care for the characterizations. So I gave a whirl myself.

I had a couple of main sticking points from beginning to end.

1. They had to FALL in love. (It's easy to start with the main characters pining for each other then confessing, but I wanted there to be some amount of justification to the attraction.)

2. They had to stay close to character. (None of the 'Mako's been secretly gay this whole time' copouts.)

3. No sex after the first kiss. (Minako would, because Minako. Ami might, depending on how frustrated she's been. But Rei/Mako? Didn't see it.)

So, how was I going to help two stubborn, headstrong gals fall for each other? Well, first there needed to be a catalyst that both shatters the status quo and forces them to spend a lot more time together alone. Youma/Losing Powers/Almost Dying/Needing Protection ended up fitting that bill.

Makoto doesn't know how to deal with her fear of death and failure in a constructive way. Rei doesn't know how to help her. Assumably, they've never been 'forced' to occupy the same space like that. When Mako has problems, she most likely goes to Ami, or just bottles up her frustrations by herself. Those two options aren't as easy to select, with Rei constantly trying to assert her help. Mako gives in to the situation grudgingly and slowly begins learning along the way that maybe she doesn't have to be alone.

As with any live-in situation, the ladies get to know each other better. It's an inevitability that things change, whether it be for better or worse. In this case, they begin to confide in each other, and relate a lot more than they expected. A new kind of bond forms and they both start to rely and draw strength from the other.

Rei helps to ground Makoto's restlessness, and Makoto helps Rei find the courage to face her demons.

And you know, then fluff and shit happens. You read it. Rei didn't kill Mako for wasting the shrine with a tree, so Mako got her flowers. Yadda yadda.

There are a lot of different aspects about their potential as a couple that I like.

I've said this once in a review reply, but they're gone now, so I'll repeat it. Rei's more of a taker and Makoto's more a giver.

Rei pursued Mamoru very openly and walked all over Yuuichirou most days. She had TA Girl's School wrapped around her finger. She can be very aggressive when she wants to be.

Makoto can be fairly relentless as well, but she uses different tactics to gain affection. She cleans and cooks for Motoki, she beats Zoisite up for Crane Game Joe, she tries to explain to Seijuurou that when people like somebody else - they try to do things for them.

Makoto will readily shower the object of her affection with gifts and gestures, which is perfect for Rei because she loves the attention. When it comes to intimacy though, Rei steers. She's possessive as well as aggressive. She can own Makoto in an instant because the latter is easily disarmed (see: Mischa, Tiger's Eye.)

They can help mellow each other's rougher edges as well. Rei has a harder time staying mad around Makoto's earnest wholeheartedness, and the more negative aspects of Makoto's overzealousness (i.e. trying to get herself killed) are reigned in through Rei's demanding reprimands.

Basically, I've managed to develop all these Rei/Mako feels. Yes, Mako works with Ami very well and Minako brings out something special in Rei, but GUISE SRSLY - Rei/Mako is such an awesome crack pairing. The dynamic is so vastly unexplored, which makes it so interesting sometimes.

I wanted to write them some fluff and I did. And yet somehow I always bounced back to "Oh shit, we're gonna die" land. Which brings us to the youma section...

* * *

The Nemeses

_Because some of you were mainly here to watch the Senshi punch things. _

_…_

The working title of this story was: _Civilians._ The premise being, each of the girls has to fight a youma as a civilian and win.

I hadn't planned the Senshi plot to be this important to the story. It started off as a catalyst for Rei/Mako. Simple enough, right?

The initial ideas were:

Mako electrocutes a youma somehow.

Ami kills one with Science/Brainpower.

Minako uses metal somehow (maybe she crushes it with heavy machinery or something)

Rei shoots a youma with an arrow.

Those were the basic ideas. They turned into violent crucibles and I have no regrets about highlighting individual Senshi BAMFnesses. And eventually, I realized I had probably had to come up with some sort of explanation for why this was happening.

Okay, so maybe Luna and Artemis were training/testing them. But for what?

I muddled through several scenarios. Maybe demons are crawling out of the bowels of Chaos. Or perhaps it's something with the Crystal Points and the first emergence of the regular Tokyo Joe who would become the Wiseman. I even tried Usagi is pregnant and everybody's new powers are supposed to cause the Great Crystal Tokyo Freeze….Needless to say, I scrapped a whole lot of scenes before settling on monster infected Nemesis.

Here's my headlogic on Nemesis:

Back in the Silver Millennium days, it was a regular planet, just beyond Pluto. Civilizations lived there and humans thrived. Then, Chaos rolls into town. Nemesis bears the brunt of the evil because it's first.

A plague spreads and humans start turning into youma. The armies can't fight it because they're turning too. The Warlocks and Wisemen are trying to find a cure, but are either killed or transformed themselves. The last remaining Wiseman tries to send an SOS message to Queen Serenity before killing himself.

The message doesn't make it, and he doesn't end up dying.

Chaos moves to other planets, and Beryl's End of Days occurs. Nemesis is forgotten and lost to time.

The feral youma on Nemesis are left to themselves. They breed through generations and the strongest survive the test of ages.

Dark energy pools together, forming the Black Moon. In the heart of it, lies the last Wiseman. He, too, is now driven by a base need to collect magical energies.

Sailor Pluto's presence on Nemesis does not go unnoticed. She makes portals to Earth, revealing the path to life on another world. These portals are emulated by the Black Moon, using youma to scout the way.

The Senshi reveal themselves to be much more than the Wiseman bargained for. They would have killed him with their combined power, if not for Sailor Moon's purification.

Nemesis is left behind an empty world, littered with gemstones and devoid of life.

And that's how Death Phantom finds it when banished there by Neo Queen Serenity in the far future. He dons the guise of a Wiseman and takes up the symbol of the Black Moon. He seduces a clan of exiles and the rest is Sailor Moon R.

It could be a fic on its own, but I probably ain't writing it. You can though, go ahead. Steal those ideas, I don't mind at all.

* * *

The Others

_In which I apologize for my intentional plot holes. _

_…_

"Write something that *_you*_ would want to read."

That's what I was doing. Hence the Rei/Mako thing. And hence the Inner Senshi.

I don't read much stuff about the Outers. They've never been my favorites. I like them fine enough, don't get me wrong. They're not bad characters, it's just that I don't care about them nearly as much as I love the Inners.

Thus, they've been conveniently out of town this whole time. It was a total cop out, I know. But it's just not their fic.

Plus, I didn't know them as well at the time to feel like I would be writing them with enough sincerity. If I wasn't going to write them well or planned to give them any spotlight at all, they might as well have been out of town.

You probably have noticed that Mamoru got the same treatment. He showed up, said maybe two lines, and then faded into the background. Again, it's not out of resentment. It's just that I didn't have a storyline to give him. He and Usagi have their fics and have their entire series of screen time, so I wasn't too torn up about it.

I actually made an attempt to shove Haruka and Michiru into the story. They showed up for Rei's birthday going, "Hay guise, what'd we miss?" Obviously, those scenes didn't pan out and I'm glad they didn't. Because tossing them in at the last minute like that not only lacked finesse, it was disingenuous.

It's hard to divide a story amongst such a large cast of characters. I regret not being able to do more with Ami and Usagi, but ultimately, it was Rei and Mako's fic.

But, I'm trying to include everybody in my future writings. I'm better with Haruka and Michiru than I was before. I've thought more about them and their motivations, so I think I can handle giving them important subplots this next time around. I'm still figuring out Hotaru, but she'll do something great, I'm sure.

Which leads me the next section...

* * *

The Next Up

_What's done, what's potential, and what I'm working on right now._

…

I've alluded several times to a SilMil fic I've been trying to write at the moment, but first let me tell you more about the story I DO have finished.

One day, I was having particularly strong Mako/Mina feels, so I decided to start writing them. I probably read one of their better fanfics and wanted to do one too.

Although I was probably intending a one shot or something rather simple at the time, I ended up clocking out with fourteen chapters.

I wrote it in tandem with What We've Lost. Whenever I got stuck or couldn't take Rei or Mako's angsty angst, but still wanted to write, I'd work on this one.

Compared to What We've Lost, it is rather simple. Not an AU, but no Senshi action. It's a romantic comedy because sometimes I just needed to write something happy and lighthearted.

Usagi abuses the disguise pen for spy missions. Minako dubs Rei as her wingwoman against her will. Ami advises Makoto to run away before it's too late.

So next next Monday (I'm gonna take a week off before starting up again), it's the start of my Mako/Mina side project. Hope to see you there.

…

Additionally, if I feel like writing something in the same continuum as What We've Lost, I'll toss up a couple unrelated one shots. This could be anything from Minako revenge dousing Artemis with a spray bottle, to Rei/Mako fluff, to a random battle scene. I don't have a strict sequel planned, so it'll be a series of shorts. If you have a request, I'll take prompts under consideration.

…

Back on the subject of the SilMil fic, it's going to be rather long and I have no regrets on that. Progress is slow going at the moment, but I'm hopeful. I've planned it to be a trilogy and I'm not going to release any chapters, until I finish the first book at the very least.

The story will focus on each Senshi as a Princess of her respective planet - beginning before they've even heard the word "Senshi." Various catalysts will cause their journeys to intersect and the looming threat will bind them together.

As I craft this story, I encourage you to PM me your suggestions, ideas, headcanons, likes, dislikes, feels, SilMil fic recommendations, etc. The more I talk about the subject and banter about interplanetary politics, the more likely I am to finish quicker.

To reiterate, the Outers and Endymion will have featured roles.

That being said, the next chapter in this Story Group will contain a "trailer" of what I've got so far. It will be subject to revision of course, but hey just for fun, enjoy the preview of what's to come.

..

..

..

Thanks again for your support, folks. It's been a fun several months, and I'm sincerely glad to have shared with you.


	26. Preview: Champion's Crusade

Some stories reach so far back, they are lost to time. Ages and Millenniums fade away without annals. Forgotten. Discarded.

But some legends never die. When heroes are made, their songs echo. Reborn again and again, endlessly shouting into the future. Voices undying. Victories everlasting.

Ten Kingdoms Fall. Nine Heroes Rise. An Angel Is Summoned.

This is the story of the Princesses who dared reach their hands toward Godhood.

This is the CHAMPION'S CRUSADE.

* * *

_A ROYAL PICKS UP A PEASANT'S BLADE_

* * *

"You're a Princess, Makoto," insisted Shinozaki, "You have duties to the Court."

"What duties? To smile vacantly and charm nobles? To sing pretty songs and bat my eyes demurely in hopes that I'll attract a Prince to marry?" She shook her head vehemently. "I'm sorry brother, but I'm a Seedmark now. I fight for Jupiter."

"Fight for Jupiter?" he repeated incredulously, "You went into infantry basic training for six months and now you fight for Jupiter? Have you even been in a battle? We're not even at war yet."

"Yet?" she emphasized, "So, you admit that you plan for war."

"That's not the point."

"It's _my_ point," she reaffirmed, "I'm going to get stronger. I'm going to get smarter in the ways of battle. Then, I'm going to track down our _real_ enemies and kill them myself. And I'm going to do this before you start your pointless war with the Mercurians."

"It's so simple in your world, isn't it Makoto?" scoffed Shinozaki, "You're the hero, and I'm the villain. It's that easy?"

"No, it's not easy," denied Makoto, "This is hardest thing I've ever done. But I'm doing it. You're not a villain, you're just making the wrong choices."

"The world isn't black and white," argued Shinozaki, "I don't make these decisions lightly."

"Neither do I," nodded Makoto, "Like you told me, you do it your way, and I'll do it mine."

"I wasn't expecting you to actually go through with all of this!" he exclaimed, "I thought it was a phase. Something you needed to do to get over Mother and Father's deaths."

"I'll never get over it," she said seriously. "And I'm not going to stop."

* * *

_A RUNAWAY CHOOSES EXILE_

* * *

"Don't you miss them?"

Another choke of rusty laughter escaped Haruka's throat. Did she miss them? Of course she did. Every day.

"Yes. I miss them. I miss my siblings. My people, my world. But I can't live that lie, I'd rather perish."

"They're not too far outside this door, Haruka," said Serenity, "You should speak to them. At least, let them know that you're okay."

Haruka balked at the notion. Speak to them? Again, it wasn't as effortless as it sounded. Serenity hadn't been there. She hadn't been there for the anger. For the accusations, the tears, the emotional and physical blows. Their fallout was mutual and painfully deliberate. Haruka couldn't just speak to them. It was far too late for words.

She may as well hold on to what little pride she had left.

"I'm afraid that isn't an option," she denied, "It's too much of a risk. I've created a life here. It's not much, but it's mine. And I'm not going to give it up. Not even for them."

"But they're your family! Don't you want to go back to your home at all?"

"Uranus is no home for cowards or traitors," she recited coldly, "I've abandoned it. And I can never return."

"But what if you could? If I was the Queen, more than anything I would just want my daughter back."

"The Princess of Uranus is dead, Serenity. She's gone. I'm what's left and I can't show my face to them ever again."

"So you're just going to hide around corners, until they're gone?" questioned Serenity, "It's been three years, surely you can forgive each other!"

Haruka turned away in a huff, angry at her parents for still having such an effect on her, angry at Serenity for pressing the issue, angry at herself for letting it get this far.

"I don't want forgiveness."

* * *

_ALLIANCES TEETER ON THE CLIFFS OF SUSPICION_

* * *

"An invitation to Venus?" repeated the Queen of Mercury, glancing warily at letter her daughter had handed her.

"Yes, Minako writes that she'd like to give me a tour of the palace," said Ami, summarizing the correspondence. Her mother appeared not to be actually reading it, and that was fine with her. "If I leave tomorrow morning, I can be back in time for the wedding."

"No, absolutely not."

Ami was surprised at the sharp denial. "May I ask why not?" Was there a scheduling conflict she had failed to recall?

"You have duties to the Mercurian court, that's why not," reprimanded her mother, "You should be focusing on completing the warp portal."

"But Mother, it's only for two days, surely-"

"Surely what?" interrupted the Queen, "Are you questioning me?"

Ami went sheet white and shook her head rapidly. "No, your highness. I would never."

"That's what I thought," nodded the Queen, "Now what of your progress with the prototype?"

"We've been making significant strides, your Majesty."

"Excellent."

"But we are at a momentary standstill while we wait for additional supplies to arrive," remarked Ami nervously, "So I thought perhaps that I may attend Venus's summons, as it may be of significant interest to the advancement of our Kingdom."

Ami's words managed to pique her Mother's interest. "How so?"

"Well, as you have indicated, the Venusians may be untrustworthy," reminded Ami, "Especially, as Minako will be ascending to the Jovian throne. Perhaps, I may be able to discover any nefarious plots."

"Hmm…"

"I would of course travel in the guise of diplomacy, but additional reconnaissance on the enemies' home turf could certainly prove useful for future endeavors."

"Ami, I'm surprised at you."

The blue haired girl winced, feeling as if she had been caught in a lie. She had never been very good at these things.

"You're thinking with your head," acknowledged the Queen with approval, "Those fools won't see it coming."

"M-may I go then?"

"Very well, my daughter," said the Queen, "Go to Venus and make them prove they aren't snakes. If they give any indication otherwise, we will strike preemptively. Just be careful and remain wary, who knows what that wretched Princess Minako has in store for you."

* * *

_THE CHOSEN PASS THE MANTLE FORWARD_

* * *

"What's wrong, Mother?"

The Queen of Mars clung to her daughter, weeping in an unexplained grief. "I fear for you, my dear child."

Rei stiffened in the anguished embrace, "Was I in one of your visions?"

"Rei, my dear Rei," cried her Mother, rocking her without answer.

"Was I in your vision?" repeated the young princess.

"Rei, I want you to know that I love you the most," she sobbed.

"And I love you, Mother," replied the girl in a frightened daze, "What of your vision? What has you in such a state?"

The Queen inhaled a deep breath. "We cannot escape our fates, my child. Hard as we try." Her eyes began to dry, as she released her daughter. "I'm so sorry to leave you behind."

"Where are you going?" asked Rei, fearful tears clouding her vision, "I don't understand what's going on."

"I haven't much time," lamented the Queen, "I didn't want to waste so many words, but I had to tell you that I'm sorry, before it's too late."

"Mother, please!"

Rei felt the sudden pressure of her Mother's lips upon her forehead. They were so hot, they set her skin ablaze. The heat spread down to her eyes, blurring her vision. It reached into her ears, screeching with hot fire. She could taste a thick smoke and was slowly overcome by the oppressive scent of burning hair.

The young Princess of Mars was thrown from the bed by an unknown force and sent tumbling to the floor. As she choked on her charred breath, her eyes began to glow.

Kengo burst through the door to find his cousin seizing upon the floor and his Queen devoid of color and life on the bed.

A frenzied scream for help tore through the palace.

...

They say that when a Diviner is about to die, their final vision is of the chosen Next that they must pass their Gift onto. They see everything that lies within the future of the Next, but are left without time to explain before they must move on to the Spirit World. That is the Curse that accompanies The Gift.

* * *

_DREAMS ARE SHATTERED TO BE REMADE_

* * *

"Minako," whispered Serenity, "Do you want to marry this prince?"

"Of course I do," choked Minako, "It's for the good of our planets. We'll be at the forefront of an alliance for peace."

"Are you sure?" questioned Serenity again.

"No."

She finally broke, collapsing to the grass, trying to hide herself behind the cover of rose bushes. Serenity dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the now weeping Princess of Venus.

"You'll be okay, Minako."

"How can I?" sobbed the blonde, "Once I go back to Jupiter to marry him, I won't be able to go home again."

"Makoto can help you," tried the Moon Princess.

"I didn't want this."

"I know."

The Venusian allowed the comforting embrace to consume her, as she wept. She wept for the beautiful planet that she would have to leave behind, for the bonds of siblings and friendships she would have to sever, and for herself. For the future she could never have and the dreams she had yet to dream.

"Minako, I'll figure out something," promised Serenity suddenly.

"There's nothing you can do," sniffled Minako.

"Maybe not now, but someday. Just wait and see." Serenity squeezed her friend harder, making a vow to both of them.

Serenity was determined, Minako could tell. But determination alone couldn't change her fate. She said nothing, allowing herself to return to the stasis of calm. When she felt composed, the pair returned to their chambers as they were scheduled.

The look of empathetic concern never left Serenity's face. It was there the next morning, when she and her father boarded the vessel back to Venus. The Moon Princess waved her farewell with glimmering eyes.

It pained Minako to know that she might not see her friend for several more years. An inexplicable need tugged at her heart, telling her that she could have stayed by the Moon Princess's side for the rest of her days. But being able to relish in Serenity's companionship was simply a fleeting dream.

She had to start letting go of those.

* * *

_AND A DARKNESS UNLIKE ANY OTHER LOOMS ON THE HORIZON_

* * *

"Please, Michiru. I'm worried about you. Please, let me in."

The door crept further open, revealing a haggard, red-eyed princess.

"Hello, Elsa. May I help you with something?"

"Well, I-" Elsa entered the room, but didn't get very far. She stopped in her tracks. Before her, waited a large canvas, covered in oppressive blues. She might have described it as a city scape, if the buildings had been in tact.

"You normally do portraits…" she muttered awkwardly, eyes trailing the depicted scene of destruction. In the foreground, broken stone formations lay in waste, smothered by a devastating flood. Wreckage floated to the surface in the background, leading the eye upward to a blackened sky. Eerie dark green clouds lay above the chilling scene.

"It is a portrait," Michiru choked out.

"Michiru…"

"A portrait of my own hell," she added painfully.

The green haired princess fell to her knees before the painting.

"I don't understand."

"This. I see this every night in my dreams. Over and over. It only gets more real. I've been painting it from memory."

Elsa approached the painting, studying the detail. At a close distance, one could make out scattered corpses floating amongst the wreckage.

"You see this every night," she repeated in horror, "For how long?"

"Six months," admitted Michiru.

"Why haven't you told me?"

"I haven't known how to explain. How to even begin describing it…" Michiru's eyes trailed the art work. "But now, I can. This painting. It says what I haven't had the courage to."

"And what does it say?" asked Elsa, fearing the answer.

"That the End of the World is coming. And I'm involved somehow."

* * *

_The Silence Is Coming. Prepare for War._

* * *

CHAMPION'S CRUSADE

The Awakening Approaches, 2014


End file.
